Brothers in Blood
by backachicka
Summary: Arron and Jarron run into some trouble when they get in a fight with some town soldiers. Ander and Sheri sneak into the Department of Shipping Services to find the shipping records.
1. prologue

Prologue:

The thunder cackled over the small town of livenrow, as if in forbearance to the awful events that would soon occur. The animals fled into the woods as cumulonimbus thunder clouds began to gather in the night sky. Joshua had been hunting in the woods and had returned in hopes of avoiding the oncoming storm. He carried with him two dead fawns slung over his shoulder. His wife, bearing his third child, waited in for his safe return. The town was silent as he approached; the inhabitants of livenrow were most likely snuggled inside their houses waiting out the storm.

Joshua had lived in Livenrow most of his life, and although he had visited the continent and most of the smaller islands during his time as a soldier, Livenrow had always been his home. His wife was on the edge of childbirth when he left. He walked into his house to witness his wife strewn across the floor, the local village doctor talking and soothing her through the birthing process. Her breathing huffed intensely as she as she labored to bring forth the new life that resided in her womb. Joshua approached his wife and began to comfort her.

"Come on Marianna, just a few more pushes. Your almost there."

Marianna continued to push and scream, grapping Joshua's hand in a stranglehold. Slowly the baby became visible and after a few more labor-intensive breaths the baby was born. The doctor reached up handed the baby to its mother.

"It's... It's a boy, Marianne bellowed as she cradled the newborn child in her hands, affectionately drawn into his eyes.

Joshua stared at his newborn son. Never in his life had he been as happy as that moment. After the disappearance and misgivings with his two older sons he never thought he would have the chance to prove himself as a father. This was his opportunity to prove to himself that he could be a good father, one that is children and Mariana could look up to. His wife held up his new child as if beckoning him to take the child in his hands. He gently rocked the baby back in forth, cradeled in his arms. The baby's mouth passionately sucked on his thumb. The baby's violet red eyes slowly opened as he got his first look at his father. Tears gently flowed down Joshua's face as he cherished the life he had created.

These tender moments with his newborn child were destroyed as a chilling scream from across the village rent the air. Startled, Joshua jumped to his feet. He grabbed his sword and bolted for the door.

"Joshua!"Marianna screamed.

As he ran from the house he caught one last glance of his wife and child. Marianna clutched the baby to her chest. Joshua leaved without a word. The rainstorm had come while he had been inside. It pattered relentlessly against the house and surrounding fields. Joshua made his way towards the spot in which he had heard the scream only to be stopped in shock. The once quiet town was now alive with noise as townspeople fled into the night. Several houses were on fire as savage men wearing dark, scalely armor pillaged the town. They brandished short black swords and brutally slayed all who came within their distance.

"No...this can't be" Joshua whispered as his breath swallowed within his throat. He swiftly fled the scene to return to his house. By the time he had come within view of the house he was out of breath.. The house was a burning inferno and fire erupted from the windows like the bowels of a volcanoe.

"Dammit"! Joshua screeched as he flew into the house. He scavenged the building frantically looking for his wife and newborn child. He found his wife, dead, impaled with a short sword, her head missing. His child was gone. Joshua stood in disbelief as he stared down at his now dead wife. How could his life, once filled with happiness gone down hill so fast? Would god not allow him the chance at happiness? Joshua came back to reality as a crash came from behind. One of the savages who had raided the village stood behind him in a drunken stupor, a bottle of whiskey in one hand, and in his other hand he held his wives severed head by the hair, blood dribbling down her lips. The man reared back and let out an obnoxious laugh as he stumbled and threw the decapitated head to the floor. Joshua screamed in anguish as he swung his broadsword, severing the head of the savage in one sweep. Joshua left his home without a second glance. The home that he had lived in for the past twenty years with his family. The home that he had raised his kids in. The home that had brought him both life, and death.

As he made his way down the ravaged road he saw the invaders leaving over the small hill on the western side of the town. Once over the hill they could easily slip into the deep recesses of the forest. Joshua chased after them and easily caught up to the remaining three stragglers at the top of the hill. The fighters brought their swords into defense positions in preparation to defend themselves but they were match for Joshua, who was once known as one of the best swordsmen from the islands milita. He slayed them in artistic fashion, finishing all three before one of them even hit the floor. Joshua, who was not in as good of shape as he had once been, was quiet exhausted from the fighting and slumped on his knee's in exhaustion.

" Bravo... Bravo" a voice behind Joshua chuckled.

Joshua turned around and a look of horror crossed his face at the realization at who the man was. The pale skinned man clapped steadily as if amused at the feat that Joshua had just completed. His long hair was bleach white and his eyes were as red as the blood running through his veins. "s-son" Joshua stammered as he rose to his feet.

"Don't call me that!" the man screamed in response. "I am NOT your son!"

"Alright…Ezekiel" Joshua responded. "what the hell is this? Is this your doing?"

"Im glad you like it" Ezekiel slyly replied. "I just thought I would pay my new baby brother a visit" what a coincidence that my visit would come on the night of his birth!"

"Do you have him Ezekiel, have you kidnapped him, because I swear by every god on this planet that if you have I will kill you!" Joshua screamed into Ezekiel's face.

Ezekiel brushed the threat of with a high-pitched laugh. "I'd like to see you try, and yes I have taken my younger brother. I have use of him, and after how you raised me, I can see that he would be in much better care in somebody else's hands.

"Ezikial, there was nothing we could do. We cared about you, you must know that"

"Shutup!" Ezekiel flared. "shutup! Shutup! Shutup!" " you and that stupid whore of a wife didn't care about me in a minute of your lives. Now I am going to rescue my brother, Rescue him from the hell you would put me through."

Joshua stood and raised his broadsword in an offensive stance. "Not if I stop you first. I was hoping that one day you could be a son to me again, but if I have to kill you to regain my son, then I will sleep no worse at night."

Ezekiel smirked "so be it. I have been looking forward to this day, the day I kill my sorry excuse for a father. Ezekiel unsheathed his sword, _sherri_. The black sword was narrow and sleek, slanted to the tip. He cherished the blade, carrying it with him at all times, using it well past its prime. Ezekiel raised the sword slanted downward above his head in a defensive stance, waiting for Joshua to lead.

Joshua charged, sword raised high, a blood curling battle cry ringing echoing from his lips. Ezekiel's hands twisted into different motions at breakneck speed, whispering cantations for teleportation under his breath. Just as Joshua was about to bring his sword down on his sons head, he disappeared underneath his sword in a puff of smoke.

"Damn!" Joshua seethed under his breath. He had not seen his son in many years and did not realize his son knew how to perform cantations. Ezekiel reappeared standing on the side of the broadsword that Joshua still carried. Ezekiel slowly raised his sword level with his father's face, the tip almost touching his nose. Joshua overturned his sword as Ezekiel back flipped off, landing on the ground not far from where Joshua stood. Ezekiel quickly signed the cantations for speed, and flew at Joshua in a gust of wind. It took all of Joshua's strength to hold is ground from the collision as their swords impacted, the sound of metal against metal ringing through the hills and forest. Father and son continued to exchange blows, and to anyone watching the fight would have seemed like nothing but reverberations in the sky. Finally Joshua managed to gain the upper hand and pushedpush Ezekiel to the ground. He jumped in the air on top of Ezekiel ready to bring his sword down but before Joshua could strike he was gone in another flurry of cantations and smoke. This time he reappeared behind Joshua sword already in mid swing. Joshua barley managed to turn around in time to parry the blow, but still managed to take a gash in the side of his left arm. Joshua flew to the slowly strode toward Joshua laughing like a small child.

" This is just TO easy. Where is all of my fun? He stood over Joshua and began to violently step on Joshua's open wound, blood splurting everywhere. Joshua's voice left his lungs as he was beat into submission. When Joshua was nothing more then a wreck on the floor, Ezekiel stepped back to catch his breath. Thinking Joshua was finished, Ezekiel turned his back and begin to walk away. But Joshua was not done, not by a long shot.

"Never turn your back on an enemy!" Joshua screamed as he jumped to his feet, sword him hand. Joshua swung with all his might, severing Ezekiel at the waist. As his upper torso twisted in the air and fell to the ground, a twisted smile crossed Ezekiel's lips. The corpse disspared as the upper torso touched the ground. Joshua stood in stupefied shock until he felt _sherri _slice through his rib cage, emerging out his stomach.

"an...an allusion"

Joshua huffed, staring down at the blade protruding from his stomach. He was dying.

"these cantations are amazing creations" Ezekiel chuckled. "With them I can do whatever I want! He took the blade and slowly twisted it inside Joshua's body as blood splirted out his front and back. "Now say hello to mother for me!" Ezekiel angrily said as he pulled the bladeout of Joshua, and finished him with a final slash. Joshua fell first to his knees, and then to the floor, dead.

"hmmm" Ezekiel said with a finished tone as he sheathed his sword and turned to face burning village. His old home, now just a pile of burnt cedar. He stood there in silence examing the beautiful destruction he had caused. One of Ezikiel's commanders approached him from behind. "We are done here and are ready to move out. Has the boy been taken care of?" Ezekiel said as he addressed one of commanders.

"Yes sir." the commander responded. "We have taken him into hiding in the woods to wait until you were finished. They are waiting for you. Ezekiel smirked. "Good, good. I guess it's time I met my baby brother.

Jeremiah ran down the slowpy hill in the forest as fast as he could, trying to get as much distance between the town and him as possible. A baby was nestled in his arms, fast asleep. His instructions were to get as far from the town as possible with the baby. When the town was destroyed Ezekiel would find him and take the baby. Jeremiah had been running for the past 30 minutes and was growing tired. He saw a clearing at the base of the slope he was running down and decided that it would be the perfect spot to wait for Ezekiel.

There was a small creek running through the clearing. Jeremiah set the baby down and greedily began to take large drinks from the creek. Thirst quenched, Jeremiah stood up and stared into the forest. A deep rustling was coming from within the bushes. He tensed, drawing the short sword that was strapped to his back. The commotion got louder and louder until finally a small fawn trodded out from the bushes. The fawn was crippled and had to hobble on three legs. He had come to the clearing to take a drink. Jeremiah laughed at his own stupidity. Afraid over a stupid fawn! Jeremiah continued to laugh as he kicked the small fawn to the ground. When Jeremiah had finished kicking the fawn he turned to pick up the baby he was supposed to be watching.

The baby was gone.

"what the-" Jeremiah squelched, but his sentence was interrupted as a dart flew from the trees above him and imbedded itself into his neck. Poison from the dart drifted through Jeremiahs blood causing him to foam and keel over in pain. A man jumped down next to Jeremiah from the trees above him. The man had long, spiky, coal black hair. He carried the baby in his hands. The baby Jerimah was supposed to be watching. His skin was tan, and a sash covered both of his eyes. Jeremaih wondered how he could see. The man had two blades strapped to his waist and as he approached him he drew one of them. Jeremiah spit in extreme pain at the man who stood above him. He raised his sword above Jeremiah, and brought it down piercing Jerimah's heart. The man cleaned his blade in the creek and dried it on the grass. By the time he was done, he could hear the voices of the savages coming from the distance. He quickly jumped back into the branches above him and raced through the trees away from the clearing.

Later that night the man would come upon a small village. The villagers were fast asleep, and did not notice as placed the baby besides the bed of one of the families. Before leaving the small child, he gently placed a black necklace with a gray stone around the small boys neck. The stone was shaped like a tear, and it lay gently against the small child's neck. They also did not notice as he snuck back into the woods. The man regretted leaving the child, but he knew it was the best place for him to be. The village was small and secluded enough that he did think the child would be found easily. The man retreated back into the forest.

It would be some time before he saw the boy again.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

**15 years later**

Aaron blocked another blow and retuned it in equal fashion. Sweat dribbled down in beads from his head as him and his enemy exchanged blows. The afternoon was hot, and he and his opponent had been sparring for the past hour. Both boys were at the edge of their strength. Neither one was able to get a finishing blow in.

The other boy, Jaron, brought his sword around in a side sweep. Aaron swiftly jumped high in the air, avoiding the sword and flying over Jaron. While arching over Aaron thumped Jaron on the head with his sword. Thankfully the swords were wooden or Jaron would most likely be dead. As Aaron landed on the ground, he twisted his body around, bringing his sword around and hitting Jaron on the arm with the hilt of his wooden sword, disarming him at once. Jaron, still standing even from the whack on the head, was now disarmed. Jaron raised his arms in defeat, a somber look crossing his face. They stood facing each other, until Aaron broke the silence with a small smile.

"That's 27 wins for you, and 423 wins for me." Aaron said, as he expertly swung his wooden sword in artistic fashion.

"Oh come on" Jaron said while laughing. "At least 54 of those wins don't count, you cheated."

Jaron and Aaron had been sparing like this every day for almost the past two years. They would fight under the big spruce tree that sat atop the hill on the east side of the small village of Duran. The village was located in a small clearing in the deep forests on the Doman Islands. The Island was home to many villages, but Aaron had never strayed from the village of Duran. It had been is home, and there was no reason to leave it.

" Well, I figure we should probably head back home now" Jaron said as he packed up his stuff. "Our Moms will kill us if we are late for dinner."

Aaron quickly packed up his stuff, and when Jaron had finished, they raced down the hill. The sun was already setting in the sky, and by the time they reached the village it cast an orange glow over the treetops and houses.

"See you tomorrow then" Jaron exclaimed as he headed to his house, which was located near the center of the village.

Aaron lived on the western outskirts of town near the edge of the forest. As he entered his home his parents, Michael and Elizabeth, were preparing dinner. Although he had lived with them his entire life, they were not actually his parents. Elizabeth had told him that one night while they were sleeping they awoke to find a baby situated at the foot of their bed. They had taken care of Aaron ever since. The couple was infertile, and had always wanted a child of their own. Aaron considered Elizabeth and Michael to be his parents, even though they were not. The way he figured, they must be better then his deadbeat parents that abandoned him. When Aaron entered the door, Elizabeth came up and wrapped him in his arms, giving him a big hug. Elizabeth was not a small woman, and towered over all other women in Duran.

"And how was your day son?" Elizabeth chimed. "I have made your favorite for dinner, steamed venison with dried mushrooms!"

"It was good mom." Aaron replied, suffocating under his mothers hug. " I did some work at the armory for some money, and sparred with Jaron again."

" Oh you boys are always going at it," said Elizabeth, finally relinquishing Aaron from her hold. "One of these days one of you is going to get an eye poked out."

Aaron signed. "Were are fine mom, we make sure to avoid hitting each other in the face."

Michael, sitting in the chair next to the fireplace, let out a large huff. "Well I hope you haven't made any plans for tomorrow son, because I am going need some help chopping some wood."

Michael was a scruffy, well built man who was known for being one of the strongest in the village. He had first showed Aaron to fight, and because of him Aaron was stronger then any boy is age with a sword. Unlike Elizabeth, Michael could be stern, and required Aaron to help him with vigorous tasks around the house. He owned the village butchery, which required a lot of extra care.

"Don't worry father, Jaron and I are going to hike to the spring tomorrow to go swimming, but I am free in the morning."

"Good" Michael responded as he got to his feet. "Now I do believe it is time for dinner."

The dinner that night was delicious, and as Elizabeth had said, Aarons favorite. The family sat around the table and discussed the comings and goings of the village. Elizabeth reveled some of the village gossip while Aaron listened intently. Michael, the quite type, sat quietly and ate his dinner. After dinner was over Aaron helped his mother with the dishes while Michael brewed a fire to heat the house for the night. When the dishes had all been cleaned, Aaron went to bed early, in preparation for the work that that must be done tomorrow.

Perspiration soaked Aaron's shirt as he brought the ax down on the block of wood. It was the middle of summer, and the sun blazed down upon the town of Duran. He had been chopping wood for the past 4 hours, and a pile almost as tall as his house was piled next to him. Aaron was used to this type of grueling work, but the hot summer conditions made the work harder . His muscles rippled as he heaved the ax up, catching the eyes of several girls across the forest. Arron was shy and had trouble trying to make conversations with the girls from the village, no matter how much he fancied them. The girls walked by, giggling as he chopped block after block.

When he finally finished with his last piece of wood, he set in up against the wall, ran inside to fetch his belongings, and ran to meet up with Jaron at the armory. Jarons dad owned he armory, and Aaron would often take work at he armory as a side job to make extra money. He was becoming quite found of ironwork, and could now make basic weapons. The town was small and not many of its inhabitants required weapons, but visitors from across the island would come to buy the legendary weapons from Jarons family. By the time Aaron arrived at the armory, his friend was already waiting for him. Together, they left town through the north exit, heading deep into the trail in the forest that traveled to the local springs. It was not a grueling hike, and they arrived in the springs after two hours of walking. The canopy of the forest cast a jaded shadow on the small hot spring built into mountains. The thermal vents underneath the water heated the water just enough that it was comfortable enough to swim in. If one continued east around the mountain range, there was a trail to several other towns and finally the ocean. This particular hot spring was not often visited, by the other townsfolk, so the boys were often alone when they came.

As they approached the spring Jaron let out a wild roar and ran for the water, arms flailing. He entered the water creating a large splash. Aaron soon entered the water behind him, creating a splash of almost equal size. They spent the rest of the afternoon swimming with his friend up down the small spring, enjoying the warm water. Towards the end of the afternoon they decided to call it quits, and eat some fruit from the local bushes. As they sat and enjoyed their meal, they discussed their plans for the following week. Much of it would be spent working, but there would be some time for play.

"Well this has been fun." Jaron said" "but we need to go somewhere more exciting, get out of this town.

"Well" Aaron thought, "My dad doesn't need anymore help with the shop next weekend. We could always hike up to the Tremolo Mountains next weekend. There's plenty of good hunting, and the weather is perfect this time of year. We could bring a tent and…"

He ended his sentence abruptly as he heard a snap of twigs from the forest behind him. They where not alone. Aaron wheeled around in the air, searching for what had made the noise in the forest.

"What was that?" Jaron whispered, fear trembling in his voice.

Aaron didn't respond but slowly picked up the wooden sparring sword he had brought with him. His friend did the same. Slowly they made their way towards the bushes they had heard the sound from. The only sound that could be heard was the steady sound of their footsteps. They entered the forest with caution. The forest was dark amber under the setting suns rays. The two walked beside each other, scanning in all direction. A shadow exploded out of the bush to Aarons right and jolted through the forest.

"Wait!" Aaron shouted as he chased after the shadow.

The shadow would not slow down as Aaron ran after it. Trees and boulders flew by him, leaving scrape marks on his clothes. He had lost Jaron long ago. Aaron was one of the most athletic men in the village, and he quickly gained ground on the shadowed individual. He noticed the shadow was slowly turning to the north, and Aaron took the opportunity to try and surround the shadow. He quickly jolted around the trees right in the path of the incoming shadow, only to notice it was gone. Aaron stood, dumbfounded as to what had happened. He was right behind the man, there was no way he could have escaped into the forest that fast. A branch in the tree above Aaron gave a slight wobble. Aaron looked up to see a man perched on the branch like a bird, staring down at him.

He wore gray and a red bandana covered his eyes. The man's pitch-black hair blended in with the night. "wh-who are you" Aaron stammered raising his wooden sword in the air. The man did not reply. Instead, he raised the bandana covering his eyes. What stared back where a pair of blood red eyes. Aaron could see the veins pulsing in them as he stared back. The mysterious man leapt from the branch into the air, and with a few waves of his hands he disappeared in the air above. Aaron had heard of cantations before. Some traveling magicians had come to the village to perform cantations in the past. He had however, never seen anything of such great power. Jaron came jolting through the trees to the left of Aaron. He collapsed on his knees as he tried to regain his breath.

"Where…where did he go." He asked, his voice coming out in short breaths.

Aaron stared into the forest behind where the man had disappeared. The man had not tried to harm him in any way, but judging by the look in the man's eyes Aaron knew that he was lucky to be alive.

Those were the eyes of a killer.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

That night, Aaron dreamed of death. A village burning as its ashes filled the night sky. The piercing cries and screams of its inhabitants bore into his head. Corpses littered the floor and blood painted the ground red. He saw the dream through the eyes of a young child, nestled in his mother's lab in their house. A group of savages entered the house and pointed at him. Aaron watched as the mother tried to defend the child, but was no match for the blades of the men. He watched as her dead body crumpled to floor. He watched as the savages fled from the village; the flames escaping into the distance. He watched the forest flash around him. He sat nestled in the arms of a grizzly man, with a dark scar running down his face. He saw the savage die, a dart protruding from his neck. At last Aaron saw the blood red eyes of the strange man from the forest earlier staring down at him. And he knew that all that surrounded the man was death.

Aaron woke the next morning drenched in sweat. Jaron and him had not returned till late the night before from the chase with the mysterious man, and Aaron's parents were not pleased. He tried to lose the memory in his daily chores with his dad, but the man's blazing red eyes were etched into his memory. Who was the man and why was he watching them, and how did he know such advanced cantations?

After skinning several fawn Aaron preceded in cutting the meat off their bones. He then gave the meat to his dad to pound, season, and prepare for sale. Aaron was finished with his chores by the afternoon, and after a quick lunch he decided to go to the village market for some shopping for his mother. The market was crowded with the hustle and bustle of midday shopping. Mothers carried their small crying children among the different stalls as they gossiped with their friends. Shopkeepers bartered with customers, several shouting out their wares and prices trying to entice customer's in.

" Come, Come and get the finest chickens around, straight from the continent. Only 5 frankens a piece!" one shopkeeper shouted as he flailed his arms widely in the air.

Small, golden chickens with curved peaks sat inside a cage behind the man and their clucks could be heard through out the plaza. Aaron enjoyed going to the market. Shopkeepers from over the world brought their wares with him, and he enjoyed the wide variety of trinkets and gadgets that he had never seen before. Aaron had always wanted to leave Doman Island, but he didn't have the money to do so. Besides, his parents were getting old and they needed his help. The island of Doman was plenty big, and filled with it's own adventure. Aaron remembered his planned visit to the Tremolo Mountains that weekend, and all ponderings of a visit to the continent were forgotten.

This particular day at the market was no different then most; several vendors carried jewelry, weapons, food, and other typical pieces of merchandise. However one merchant stood out to Aaron. A man sat with his face completely wrapped despite the warm summer heat. All that could be seen were his dark blue eyes that shone. His fingernails were long and sharp, which he used to steadily pick at the ground around him, as if he was bored with the bustling of the market around him. The merchant noticed Aaron staring at him, and motioned for him to come over. In front of him sat a row of small pieces of jewelry. These pieces of jewelry were not as pretty as some of the pieces that other merchants were selling, and Aaron noticed the man was charging almost four times as much!

"Do you know what these are, boy?" The man questioned, a muffled voice came out from behind the sheet.

"These are transmuter stones. They all involve the power of cantations. Some stones amplify the power of cantations, while others provide status condition enhancements. Some can even provide invisibility. Observe."

The man picked up a gray ring from the matt and placed in on his finger. After a quick movement of the man's arms he was gone. A few seconds later the man reappeared, holding the small ring in the palm of his hand.

"Transmuter stones absorb energy, but at a much lower cost then performing the cantation yourself." These stones are hand crafted using some of the rarest minerals in the world."

Aaron stared intently down at the small stone in the man's hand. With such power, he would not even need to be a master of cantation's to perform them. Memories of the man from last night flashed into his memory. Aaron wanted that kind of power.

"What's the cheapest stone you have?" Aaron asked.

The man bent down to examine his pile. He picked up a small ring for Aaron to observe.

"This is a fire cantation amplification ring. It amplifies fire cantations by two fold, however you need to perform the cantations yourself."

"How much?" Aaron asked, digging for the coin bag in his pocket.

"120 franken."

Aaron stopped digging as his jaw dropped to the floor. "120 franken! I don't have that kind of money!" You'd be lucky to find anyone in the village willing to pay that much! "Aaron yelled, preparing to turn around and walk off.

The man raised his covered arm and pointed at Aaron's neck.

"That stone around your neck is a rare mineral from the continent. It is useless to you, but to a cantation forger, it can be made into a powerful transmuter stone. I will trade you that stone for this one."

Aaron hesitated, staring down at the stone around his neck. He had owned the stone ever since he could remember, and wore it everyday. He never knew how he had gotten it; he just assumed his parents had given it to him. The necklace held no real value to him, but the transmuter stone would make learning how to perform cantations easier. Aaron untied the string from around his neck and handed it to the man. The man held he necklace his in palm for a few seconds, his eyes perking up from the corner of the mask. He handed the new ring to Aaron.

"Thanks" Aaron responded, plucking the ring from the man and placing it on his finger. "I've never seen you before around the market before. My names Aaron. What's yours?" Aaron could see the man smirk through the mask.

"Suisier" The man replied and he placed Aaron's necklace in the box behind him. "I'm not from around here, but I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot more of me in the upcoming weeks. This island…. has provided good business for me."

"Well that's good" Aaron responded as he turned around the leave. "I might be needing a lot more of these transmuter stones. I'll be seeing you around, I hope." The man did not respond.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The next morning after finishing the chores with his father Aaron decided to visit the village library and see if he could find any information on cantations. Being a small village, the library was not the most elaborate on the island The library consisted of about 10 large shelves in a building that was once was a house. The librarian lived up stares on the top floor. Nonetheless, Aaron found what he was looking for.

_A beginners guide to cantacology: The study of cantation magic. _

The bookcontained several beginners' spells, including several for fire magic that he could practice with. Aaron checked out the book and took a small hike out to a clearing in the forest where Aaron could practice without setting anything on fire. A small creak ran through the clearing, and there were no trees within range of being set ablaze. He sat down on the firm ground and began to read from the book.

_Cantacology is the study of cantation magic. Cantation magic uses hand signals to channel energy out of the body. In rest state, energy travels freely through the body. By the movement of hand signals (and sometimes even other motions of the body) the energy can be channeled into a part of the body and diffused through the skin. The energy wthin the body is in a non-unusable state, but hand symbols and motions can shape the energy into a shape that is more useful to the caster. Cantation amplifying devices called transmuters can amplify transmutations by increasing the accuracy of the energy formation into a specific shape, and increasing the effect and area of coverage of said energy. Cantacionologists study the effects and ability of different hand signals. Cantations can be altered and experimented with to change the effect, and in some cases even combine cantations in unique ways. More advanced cantations requires more complicated hand motions including the use of two hands, and higher energy levels. Every cantation begins with a flat hand laying perpendicular to the ground. The hand motion(s) are then applied to create the desired effect. Creating a cantation requires the correct hand motion, and the inner ability to transfer energy to the hand. This is learned best with practice. Some basic cantations and their hand signals are described in this book._

Aaron flipped through the book until he found the spell for basic fire.

_Basic fire is one the simplest cantations to learn. The hand motion for fire is a palm fist, with the thumb, pointer, and middle finger pointed up, and the last two fingers curved down. The cantation is performed with a swipping motion of the hand away from the body. _

Aaron slowly mimicked the hand motions that were described in the book. He understood the basic concept, but he would need to see if he could do it in action. Aaron set up a small block next to the river and walked seven feet away. If he somehow caught on fire the river was only a few steps away. He slowly raised his flat right hand toward the block of wood. Quickly, he motioned the symbol for fire and flashed his arm quickly to the right. Nothing happened. Aaron hoped he didn't look as stupid as he felt. He tried the spell several more times to no avail. He began to become frustrated, which just made it harder to concentrate. Sweat trickled down his face, and Aaron could feel his body pulsing, but he was not even able to conjure a small puff of smoke, let alone fire. He returned to the book several times for reference, but he still could not get the spell right.

"I don't understand!" Aaron exclaimed to Jaron.

Aaron had returned to the village after another hour of fruitless attempts at the spell. He had met Aaron at their usual sparring spot at the top of the hill. Aaron was exausted from the practice and couldn't keep his mind off cantations. He ended up losing the fight to Jaron after only a few minutes. They decided to take a break, and picked some apples off the tree to eat.

" I did everything the book told me to. I could feel the energy moving in my body, but I couldn't get it to focus in one spot."

"Well" Jaron spitted, his mouth full of apple. "Maybe there's something wrong with your body."

"Like what" Arron spat.

"Well There could be something blocking the flow of energy out of your body. Or maybe you haven't practiced enough."

"Maybe…." Aaron slowly whispered. "Why don't you give it a try, maybe you can do it."

Aaron handed Jaron the small ring, an showed him the motion for fire. After several attempts, a small flame burst our of Jaron's hand, catching the grass on fire.

"Woah!" Jaron exclaimed as he stomped the flames out.

"See!" Aaron shouted. "What is wrong with me! I practice for hours and can't even conjure a puff of smoke, but you try for a few minutes and you conjure a freakin bonfire."

"Oh, it wasn't that big" Jaron said, somewhat peeved, but impressed by his own skill. "Maybe I just have an affinity for it or something. I'm sure you'll get it with practice."

"Yeah, what ever." Aaron said as he threw his apple core to the ground."

"Don't be like that Aaron, it doesn't suit you." Jaron said, handing the ring back to him. Aaron slipped it onto one of his fingers.

"Now what are we going to do about this weekend?" Jaron asked

" Well," Arron though. "I don't have to help my dad Friday, so we could leave early earley that morning. That way we can make it to the mountains with plenty of time to set up camp and have some time left to enjoy yourself.

"Sounds good to me" Jaron said as he hopped to his feet. "I'm so pumped for this trip! Well, I should probably be getting home for dinner. I'll see you bright and early Friday!"

Aaron watched as Jaron ran down the hill headed for his house. He slowly shook his head. How could Jaron, who had lost to him countless times in sparring, learned how to perform cantations before him? On the way home Aaron decided to stop by the market to see if the strange market man who had sold him the ring could help him figure out what he was doing wrong. The market was almost empty by the time he arrived. Shopkeepers were beginning to pack up their wares and head home. Aaron went to the booth where he had previously seen the shopkeeper, but the man was no longer there. "Dammit" Aaron whispered to himself as he turned round and headed for home. He would have to try again tomorrow. The sun was beginning to set on the town of Duran. The beautiful sunset was what Aaron loved most about the town. Aaron knew that he wanted to travel the world someday, but he would certainly miss the town, and all his friends and family. Drained, Aaron went to bed early that night. He fell asleep with cantations and the ides of travel fresh in his mind.

Aaron awoke with a start. Loud voices were coming from outside his house. He slowly got up from his bedside and approach the window. A small gathering of people stood in the center of the village standing around something that Aaron could not see. Some were shouting at each other. It even looked like some one was crying. Aaron slowly got dressed and crawled out his window. He approached the villagers to see that they were standing over an injured man. The man was dressed in silver armor with a half moon on the chest. A bleeding gash cut down the center of the man's torso. Blood trickled down the man's body out of the cut, and his mouth. He must have been a soldier. Although Duran did not have an armored military, several villages on the island did. Judging from his armor, he must have come from the town of Chosi to the south east of Duran.

The town of Chosi was a port town, and one of the biggest on the island. It's military was responsible for keeping order on the island of Duran. Although their military was large compared to other towns on the island, it did not even compare to that of the size of the militaries of the continent and surrounding islands. Medics surrounded the man, trying to stitch up the cut and apply medicine, but Aaron knew it was futile. The man was dieing; there was nothing he or anyone else could do about it.

"If what this man says is true, then we don't stand a chance. If the military of Chosi couldn't stand against the savages, then why should we fare much better?" One of the men from the small group said. Aaron recognized the man as Mark, a farmer from the village.

"Mark is right," said a women with silvery hair. "We are just a bunch of farmers and merchants. We don't know how to fight. I think the best thing to do is defend ourselves." "We can't just abandon our village!" Boomed one of the village elderly. "I've lived here my entire life. This village is my home, all our homes. We don't even know if the savages are coming here."

Mark stepped forward. "We can't take any chances! We don't know what their plans are, but if we do nothing, we die."

A moment of silence followed as he villagers pondered their situation. Another man stepped forward.

"Duran is still pretty far from Chosi, and there are plenty of other villages in between. For all we know they may have left all ready. Why don't we send some scouters out took for signs of the savages? If they see anything, they can report back to us. That will give us plenty of time to act."

The crowd thought about it for a while. Mark was the first to speak.

"Fine. I will lead a group of five men out into the forest. We will scan for any signs of the savages. If we don't see anything by next week, well head back." The group gave an approving node. "You five" Mark pointed to five men from the group who were known for their speed and strength. "Go to your homes and prepare yourself for a weeks departure. We leave in an hour."

The group dispersed, leaving Aaron, Mark, and the body alone. By this time the doctors had left, most likely to alert the gravediggers to prepare a grave. Aaron turned to Mark. "What happened? Why did this soldier from Chosi come to our village, and who attacked him?" Mark gave a sigh.

"We don't know much about what happened, but earlier someone noticed this man hobbling into the village. He noticed that the man was injured, and alerted the doctors. Soon word spread around the village. The man didn't say much before he died, but from what he said things don't sound good. The Town of Chosi was attacked by savages who came from the sea. The attack was organized, but the man didn't see their leader. The town was taken, the military destroyed. This soldier was able to escape. He was followed, and injured on the way. He walked for days until he finally found our town. He came to warn us that an attack may be coming. I hope his warning was not for nothing."

At that Mark left and returned to his house. Aaron stared at the body below him. The man stared back, but his eyes were lifeless. Soon, the grave diggers came and took the body away. They would bury him behind the church where everyone else from the village was buried. He would be another gravestone among many. Aaron watched as Mark and his group of scouters left the village. They carried with them swords and armor plates that Aaron had helped craft at the armory. As they disappeared into the forest Aaron knew that the small town of Duran might never be the same.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The next few days passed with little interest to Aaron. The scouters had not returned, so the town assumed no trouble had been found. Aaron went back to the market on several occasions to find the man who had sold him the ring, but he was never there. Aaron tried practicing the fire cantation several more times by the stream, but he made no further progress then his first attempt. Eventually he gave up. Aaron put in most of his time getting his chores down with his father and the armory so he could prepare for his trip with Jaron into the Tremolo Mountains. The night before they had planned to leave Arron had dinner with his parents. Elizabeth had made one of his favorites: stuffed mushrooms.

"Do you know what today is, son?" Elizabeth asked as they sat around the table. Aaron stared at her, perplexed.

"No….should I?" he questioned. Elizabeth smiled softly back.

"Yes, yes you should. Today is the day fifteen years ago that your dad and I first had the pleasure of finding you on our doorstep."

Arron wanted to slap himself, how could he have forgotten. Elizabeth and Michael didn't know what Aaron's actual date of birth was, but they celebrated the day he had appeared to them as his birthday. His dad turned to him.

" I know your getting older, and aren't interested in dolls like you used to be," Michael gave a chuckle. "So this year we got you something different. After the other day's incident, it seems like things on this island might not be as safe as they were before. We want you and Jaron to be safe on your trip, and I don't a wooden stick would do much against a savage. It's not much and it probably wouldn't do you any better then the wooden stick but your mom and I would like you to have this."

Michael slid a small wooden box across the table. Aaron stared at his father, and then down at the box. He slowly lifted the lid of the box. Inside was a knife inside a leather sheath. The knife was good sized and would fit nicely around his waist. Aaron lifted the knife out of the box, tears coming to his eyes. He slowly pulled the knife out of the sheath. The hilt of the knife was hand carved wood. The blade of the knife reflected off the light from the kitchen table back into Aarons face. The edge of the knife was jagged, which made the knife perfect for cutting meat.

"It's a hunting knife," His mom said, reaching across the table towards him. "But if you ever feel life you are in danger don't hesitate to use it. I love you son. You may be grown up, but to me you'll always be that small baby I first held in my arms fifteen years ago…"

Tears began to roll down Aarons face. Michael got up from the table and walked over to the door. His dad got uncomfortable around emotional situations. He hesitated in the doorway for a seconds with his back to Aaron and Elizabeth before speaking.

"Have fun on your trip tomorrow. Make sure you bring back enough food for your mom and I. You're a man now, you're going to have to start doing more work around here."

With that he gave a small chuckle, and walked out of the room. Aaron hugged his mom goodnight. She had started to cry as well. He wiped the tears off her eyes and returned to his room. After packing his bag for tomorrow, he tried his best to fall asleep. After a few hours of tossing and turning, he was back to the world of his dreams.

That night Aaron dreamed again of the burning village. The dream started much the same; savage men came and burned down the village. They took him into the forest, and Aaron watched again as the man with the scar down his face fell, a needle imbedded in his neck. The man with the blood shot eyes stared down at him from the canopy above. This time, however, the dream did not end. The man jumped down from the canopy and approached Aaron's small body nestled on the floor. He slowly drew one of his blades as he glared down at Aaron. "This is for kesha" he said, as he brought the tip of the blade down on Aaron's chest.

Aaron awoke a sweaty mess, panting like a dog. Why was he having so many dreams about the mysterious man? And what did it all mean? Slowly he got out of bed and got dressed. He ate his breakfast with relative quickness, and gathered up all his stuff. His parents were still asleep, so he quietly krept out of the house and headed toward the edge of the village where Jaron and him had planned to meet. The sun had just begun to come out over the treetops and it cast a small shadow over the village. By the time Aaron had arrived at the village edge Jaron was already waiting for him. They left the village as their way down the trail to the Tremolo Mountains to the north. The journey would take most of the day. Shortly after leaving town Aaron decided to tell Jaron about his dreams.

"What do you think it all means?" He asked.

"Well, Aaron, I have some bad news for you, but I think your going a little bit crazy" Jaron replied as you jumped out of the way just in time to avoid a smack.

"Be serious." Aaron scolded.

"Seriously, man, I have no idea. Dream reading is not my specialty. But if I were you, I wouldn't worry about it. I think that man from the forest just gave you a spook. I personally hope we never see the man again"

Aaron was silent for a few minutes as he thought about a response.

"I know it was probably nothing, but who is Kesha, and what did I do to her? I have never even heard that name before."

"It's probably just some name that you heard at the market, or from some theater show "Jaron said." Like I said, don't worry about it. Besides we have more important things going on in our life right now. I need to figure out what I'm going to say to Marian's parents."

Marian was Jaron's girlfriend. Jaron and Marian had been good friends ever since they were small kids. Only recently had their friendship turned into something more. A few nights ago Jaron proposed and she gladly accepted. Unfortunately, Marian's parents were not as fond of Jaron as he was of there daughter. They allowed Marian and Jaron to date, but not willingly.

"I'm sorry bud" Aaron joked, "But I'm not a miracle worker. You're going to have to solve this one on your own."

Aaron and his friend burst into laughter, continuing their conversation about Marian as they made there was down the trail. They talked about their love lives (which Aaron did not nave much of), their work, their families, and even the local village gossip. The discussion lasted much of the day. They soon arrived at the base of the Tremolo Mountains and began the steady climb up. They made slow progress, but by midafternoon they had arrived at a clearing by a small stream. The boys decided that it was a perfect place to stay for the night and they began to set up camp. By the time the sun had begun to set over the mountains to the west they had finished setting camp and sat huddled around a small fire. That night for dinner they venison that they had brought from the village. After dinner they both decided it was time to go to bed. It had been a long day of walking, and tomorrow would be a day full of hunting. Aaron quickly fell asleep in the confines of his sleeping bag. He was so tired that he did not even dream of the man from the forest.

Aaron and his friend were not asleep for long before it was time to get up. The sun had not even risen yet as they made their way blindly out of the tent. The boys quickly gathered their hunting gear and made their way through the mountain forest. The hunting was slow, and by afternoon all that they had caught was a few small birds. Aaron was about ready to call it quits and try and again tomorrow.

Then he spotted a doe out of his right eye. The small deer was chewing on bush near the stream. Jaron had a much closer shot then Aaron. He looked over to make sure Jaron saw the doe. He did. Slowly but expertly Jaron raised the bow straight at the doe. Sweat dripped down his face, but he kept the bow taunt. Finally, he released the arrow. The doe collapsed into the bush, an arrow protruding from his chest.

"Yes!" Arron, shouted, congratulating his buddy.

"A perfect shot." Jaron made his way over to inspect his price.

"Were gonna be having deer meat tonight!" he shouted as he dragged the doe out of the bush.

"I can almost taste it" Aaron replied to his friend as he put his gear away. "You better leave some dear for me bud-"

_Mrrroooahhhh_

a loud growl traveled through the forest. The moan echoed across the mountain walls. Aaron looked through he forest to see a gigantic brown bear pounding through the forest. Tremolo mountain bears were known for their size, and this bear must have been a full-grown adult. His claws ripped through the soil below and his jaunt sounded like a stampede. The bear was running straight for Jaron. Jaron drew his small sword in defense, but he was no match for the bear. With one swipe of his claws the sword was torn from Jaron's hand. The bear raised itself on its two loud feet and let out another growl as it reveled it's sharp teeth. The bear brought its two front paws down on Jaron, claws digging deep into his skin.

"Jaron!" Aaron shouted as he ran to try and fend the bear off.

He quickly unsheathed his sword and slashed the bear on his right flank. The sword sliced through the bears skin, but had little effect on the massive bear. Aaron tried to pull his sword his sword out, but it was stuck in the bears skin. The bear let out a growl of anguish as it turned to deal with Aaron. Aaron tried to turn around to get away from the bear but tripped on his own two feet. The bear hovered over Aaron, getting ready to squish him into oblivion.

The sun was blocked out by the bear's massive frame. Aaron raised his hands, and if that could somehow stop the colossal weight of the bear. Desperately he made the motion of fire with his hands. It hadn't worked before, but there was nothing else he could do. The bear began its journey down on top of Aaron's body. Aaron lifted his right palm up and swiped it to the left, fulfilling the cantation. The ring on his finger burst into light.

A plume of fire erupted from Aaron's hand like a volcano, engulfing the bear. The fire was larger then any fire Aaron had ever seen, much bigger then the one Jaron had conjured earlier. The bear's cry echoed through the forest as it stepped back from Aaron. The bears fur and skin quickly melted from its body. It tried to run towards the stream, but did not even make it five feet. The bear fell to the ground, a pile of rotting flesh. Aaron got to his feet and ran towards his friend. Jaron was a mess. His shirt was torn and large scars covered his body. His legs were contorted in unnatural directions. Blood flowed out of his chest.

"Jaron!" Arron cried as he knelt by his friend. "Jaron looked up at his friend.

"I'm okay body, just a few scarps. Nothing serious. Now how did you manage to conjure up such as large flame? Just two days ago you couldn't even manage to get a puff of smoke.

"That doesn't matter." Arron shouted hastily as he began to examine his friend. He did not know much about medicine but Aaron knew that if Jaron didn't get help soon he would not make it. Aaron ripped off a piece of his shirt and tied in around his friend's chest to stop the bleeding. He then reached down, and with all of his strength gently hoisted Jaron up over his shoulder.

"I'm gonna get you home buddy" Aaron said through clenched teeth. He slowly began his journey down the mountain.

By the time Aaron arrived at the village outskirts it was already the night of the next day. He was long past his breaking point, he felt like he could pass out at any minute. Jaron had passed out a long time ago. Aaron didn't even know if he was still alive. Slowly he trudged through the forest. Just as he was about to collapse from exhaustion, Aaron noticed a light in the distance. The village had to be close. But why was there so much light? Aaron could hear voices in the distance as well. He approached the bend into the village, feeling relieved to be finally home. Aaron's relief was shattered as he turned the corner and caught a glimpse of the town. The small village of Duran, home to Aaron, was on fire.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Aaron stood in disbelief at his old home. People ran from their homes trying to get their belongings and loved ones out. Houses collapsed around them. The bellow of screaming and crying could be heard above the cackle of the many fires. The fire wasn't the only problem. Aaron could hear the sound of clashing steel in the distance. The town was under attack. Who was attacking the village, and why did the scouts not warn the village of the impending attack?

When Aaron finally realized what was happening he set his friend down against a near tree, and ran into the village. He needed to see if his family was ago. Bodies lay piled next to buildings. People ran frantically by Aaron as they tried to stop the fire. At the edge of town Aaron saw some of the local villagers fighting with a group of savages. The savages wore dark armor and brandished dark swords. The villagers didn't stand a chance. Aaron wanted to help them but he needed to find his parents. He quickly arrived at his house to see that it was still standing, but fire billowed from the windows like an inferno, waiting to blow.

Aaron dashed into the house, hoping it wasn't to late to save his parents. Smoke and ash hovered in the air, making it hard to see and breath. He covered his mouth as he made his way around the house, searching for his parents. The bedroom door was open slightly. Aaron found their bodies inside their bed, like they where sleeping. He checked their pulse, only to find that it was too late. They were dead. They must have breathed in too much smoke when they were sleeping. Their bodies lay undisturbed by the flames, and both Michael and Elizabeth wore peaceful expressions across their face. They had died unaware of what was happening around them. Aaron collapsed in tears at the side of their bed. If only he had decided not to go camping with Jarron, this might not have happened. With tear soaked eyes he reached out to hold his fathers hand. Slowly he linked Michael's and Elizabeth's hands together. This way they would be together even in death.

Aaron knew his time was running out, so he quickly fled the burning building. No sooner had he left the house had it collapsed into a burning pile of rubble. Aaron was saddened by his parent's death, but more then that he was angry. Angry at the ones who did this. Angry at himself for not being able to do more. While staring down at the burnt remains of his old home, Aaron saw out of the corner of his eyes three savages approach him. They held their black swords above their head as they circled around Aaron. A small smile crept to their faces as they prepared for the kill.

Aaron drew his sword into a defense stance, waiting for an attack. The soldiers charged from all directions in unison, but Aaron was ready. Aaron ducked as the savages brought their swords down on the air above where he had once been. He swept his legs in a sweeping motion, dropping all three men to the ground. Aaron quickly approached one man and brought his sword down through his chest. A small gasp of air escaped the man's mouth as his lungs collapsed.

By this time the other two men had gotten to their feet and were steadily side-by-side. The man on the left was the first to make a move. He charged at Aaron, sword raised. Aaron easily deflected the blow, and kicked. The other soldier deflected the blow with his own blow. The two savages surrounded Aaron, taking turns swinging their swords. Aaron exchanged blow after blow to the two soldiers, but all of his attacks were deflected. Then he remembered the knife his father had given him the night before he had left.

He reached in with his left hand to grasp the small blade. When the man to Aarons left took his turn to swing at Aaron, Aaron deflected the blow with his sword. He quickly brought the knife up with his other hand and plunged into the man's neck. Blood gushed from the man's wound as he fell to the floor. The remaining savage knew there was no way he could defeat Aaron alone, and fled in panic, dropping his sword along the way. Aaron quickly caught up to the soldier, quickly stabbing his sword through the back of the man's neck. The soldier landed on the ground, trying to gasp for air as he took his last few breaths. Aaron pulled his sword out of the man's throat with a loud squish as blood seeped out of the wound.

Aaron may have finished off three of the savages, but the attack was far from over. A large growl vibrated from the house to the left. Out crept a beast that Aaron had only known in tales from the mainland. The animal looked like a wolf, but it had no hair or skin. It's exposed muscle contracted as blood pulsed through its exposed veins. Its eyes glowed green like that of a harvest moon in the dark of night. Saliva dribbled from its razor sharp fangs. This viscous beast was known as a hellcat. Hellcats were located in very rare places from the continent, but armies were known to use them as weapons for wars. The cat made its way of out the house, thrashing a chunk of human flesh in its mouth. Aaron prepared to fight, but he knew he would stand no chance against a hellcat. His only chance would be to catch it off guard while it was still eating.

Aaron prepared to attack, but before he made a move a strange thing happened. The cat's body began to expand and contract more then usual. Then, in less then 3 seconds, the cat exploded from the inside out. Gore fell from the sky, blanketing the houses and floor. When the sky had cleared, all that remained where the hellcat had once been was a pile of meat and bones. A motion to Aaron's side alerted him to another presence. Not far from where he was standing was the man from the forest.

The bandana covered both his eyes, and his arms were raised towards the sky. The man had performed some sort of cantation that caused the cat to explode. The man steadily lowered his hands to his side, one hand reaching for his waist. Two swords hung by his side. He turned his head towards Aaron. The man seemed to sense Aaron, even with his eyes covered by the bandana. Without hesitation the man walked towards Aaron, drawing one of his sword in the process. Aaron tried to retreat, but he was frozen in fear by the approaching them.

When the man was within a few inches from Aaron he stopped. Using the hand not holding his sword he lifted the bandana to expose his blood red eyes. The eyes bore into the back of Aaron's head. The two of them stood in silence, neither choosing to make a move. The man from the forest reacted first. Without a word he raised his sword high about Aaron's head. The brilliant blade reflected the sunlight into Aaron's face.

Swiftly, the man brought the deadly bade down, right where Aaron had been standing.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

As the man's blade began it's descent Aaron thought his life finished. He closed his eyes in defeat, not wanting to watch as his body was rendered in two. But the pain never came. All Aaron felt was a slight breeze of air to his right. After a few seconds had passed Aaron opened his eyes.

The man stood above him with his blade. But instead of attacking Aaron, his blade was imbedded deep into the skull of a hellcat right next to Aaron. The animal was dead before it could even let out a cry of pain. Aaron must have been so transfixed on the man from the forest that he did not even see the hellcat sneak up on him. He had saved Aaron's life. The man forcefully yanked his blade out of the hellcat, pushing the animal back. After cleaning the sword with the side of his pant leg he expertly sheathed it into its holder. Aaron stood in disbelief.

"Wh-who are you?"

The man stared down at Aaron as he towered over him. He looked bored, as if Aaron was inconsequential, nothing but a bother.

" Ander…"

"Ander, alright, Ander." Aaron replied after a pause. "What are you doing here? Better yet, why are you following me? I saw you spying on Jarron and I in the forest the other day.

"Save your questions for later." Ander hastily replied. "If I hadn't been here a few minutes ago, right now you would be in the bottom of his hellcats stomach" he said as he nudged the beast with his foot. "The village is still under attack. These savages came to the village for one purpose; to capture you."

"But, why? Aaron questioned.

"I said no questions!" Now we need to get out of here. Now follow me and leave that toy you called a sword behind. Here, take this."

Ander reached down and unhooked one of his swords and handed it to Aaron. The sheath was a vibrant red color. Aaron slowly drew the sword to admire it. As it left the sheath the curved blade brilliantly reflected off of the rising sun in the distance. Dawn was approaching.

"Hurry up!" Ander screamed, racing into the distance, not even waiting for Aaron to catch up.

Arron quickly sheathed his sword and ran to catch up with the man. So much had changed in the past few hours. He could hardly believe that he was now working with the mysterious man from the forest who he believed had wanted to kill him. The battle in the village continued around them as they darted between buildings. Buildings blazed in fire. They passed the library and village center, both of which already lay as a pile of rubble. Arron's fellow villagers crumpled around them at the blades of the savage's or the charge of a hellcat. He wanted to help them, but he was afraid Ander would not wait for him.

At one point Arrons progress was halted as three savages charged him. He was so shocked that he led out a scream. The soldiers easily knocked away his sword. Ander heard his scream and turned around to help him. He made quick work of the soldiers with three swings of his sword. If Aaron had blinked, he may have missed Anders move. Ander sheathed his blade as if nothing had happened.

"I said keep up" he said before running off through the buildings again.

Aaron quickly got to his feet and continued on after Ander. They had not ran for much longer when they reached the village head. Ander instantly stopped dead in his tracks, and Aaron almost collided into him.

"What is it?" he asked Ander. "Why did we stop?"

At the village entrance stood a cloaked figure. It was the man from the market, Susier. Aaron recognized him from the bangles he wore around his hands and the parka that covered his face and body despite the heat. Susier stood intently, staring straight at them.

"Wait, I know this man." Aaron told Ander. "He's a traveling merchant who recently came to the village. He sold me my transmuter stone. He's won't hurt us."

Aaron continued on towards the village entrance, straight towards Susier.

"Wait!" Ander screamed, diving towards Aaron.

A flash of light erupted from underneath Susier's cloak. The light sped past Aaron and Ander like a sonic boom and hit a building behind them. The building exploded in a mass of debris. When the smoke cleared it exposed a large chunk in the wall of the house. If Ander hadn't knocked Aaron out of the way, they would both have been hit. Aaron quickly got to his feet and looked to where Susier had been standing.

The man no longer wore the parka that covered his body. It had been blown away in the blast. His face and body were covered with tattoos and piercings. Even his chest had a row of rings that ran down both sides. Susier's bangled covered arms where raised in cantation form. Had he just attacked them?

"That man is not who you think he is" Ander's voice came from behind. Ander approached Aaron with caution.

Susier smirked." How do you like my new transmuter stone ability, Ander?" I just got it recently, I have been DYING to try it out on you!" He let out a child like squeal.

Aaron stepped forward. "Susier….What are you doing? I though you were friends with the village.?

"This village" he chuckled. " I could give a damn about this village. You're the real prize here. "What, do you want with me!"

Aaron shouted. "What does everyone want with me?"

"Well-" Susier began to speak but a voice from forest cut him off.

"Now, Now, Susier. Best not ruin the surprise."

Out of the forest stepped the palest man Aaron had ever seen. The man's long, bleach hair barley stood out against his equally pale skin. A small sword lay attached to his side. What really stood out about the man were his vibrant red eyes. His sharp eyes reflected experience and hatred.

"Damn" Ander seethed under his breath. "Ezikiel"

The man Ander called Ezikiel casually strowed towards Susier and stood to face them.

"I see you have found the boy…Aaron, correct?" he said, shuffling his feet. "And after I came all the way here just to meet him."

"Stay the hell away from him!" Ander screamed as he drew his blade, holding it level with his face.

Ezikiel expelled a small huff of breath."Now, Now, I'm sure we can handle this without a fight…brother."

A small spasm ran through Anders face. "I'm not your brother!" I stopped being your brother they day you ruthlessly murdered our parents!"

"Well" Ezikiel replied. "If you had been there maybe you could have prevented it. But you weren't there. You have never been there. Your no different then our useless parents." Ander tensed, but did not reply. After a few moments, Ezikiel turned his attention to Aaron. "I see you intended to get the boy away from me. What did you plan to do with him? Did you plan to leave the island? Have you even told the boy?"

"That's none of your business" Ander replied, agitated.

"Fine, we can play by your rules." Ezikiel, said as he drew his sword. But I do not intend to let you escape with him."

With a flash of his hand Ezikiel disappeared in a ball of smoke. He reappeared in front of Ander, their blade clashing together. Ander grunted as he tried to hold of Ezekiel with his sword.

"Aaron, run!" he shouted.

Aaron stumbled towards the forest. Ezikiel tried to follow, but Ander released a cantation of lighting after him. Ezikiel turned around him time to channel the lightening into his sword. Aaron could hear the exchanging of blows and cantations behind him as Ander and Ezikiel continued their duel. Arron ran like he had never run before. Deeper and deeper into the forest. Finally he couldn't take it. Aaron stopped to take a breath. He bent down on his knees and gasped for air as sweat trickled down his face. He had run far enough into the forest that no sound could be heard except the chirp of crickets. By now morning had arrived and daylight filtered in through the forest canopy above. Unfortunately, while running through the forest he had become so disoriented that he no longer had any idea where he was. As Aaron was about to sit down and figure out what to do next a tuff of ground exploded next to him. Aaron turned to see Susier standing by a tree a few feet away.

"Did you think I was just going to stand by and watch as you got away?" Susier laughed. "Ezikiel instructed me specifically not to kill you. But that doesn't mean I can't have any fun."

With a wave of Susier's hands the tree next to Aaron burst into splinters. Aaron raised his hands and willed himself to cantation fire, but he felt nothing rise within him. Whatever power he had called upon earlier was gone. Susier let out another laugh.

"Ezikiel wants you so bad, and you can't even call forth a simple fire cantation, even WITH an amplifier?"

Aaron slowly began to step back, getting ready to run.

"Now, Now. We can't be letting you get away now. Not after Ezikiel has been waiting 15 years to find you."

Susier drew several hand motions in the air. A small, black hole appeared in the air in front him. Out of the tunnel hopped a hellcat. The hellcat's exposed muscles bulged as it growled. Aaron swiftly spun around and sped through the forest. Susier's laugh echo through the forest as he ran to try to escape the hellcat behind him. Aaron ran as fast as he could, but he could still hear the pant growl of the hellcat as it charged through the forest after him. Aaron quickly ran out of energy and tripped over an exposed root. He rolled on the ground as collided with a tree. He had no motivation or strength to get up.

The hellcat slowly approached his prey, waiting for Susier before he could do anything to the boy. Aaron closed his eyes, hoping for a quick death. A small yelp escaped the hellcat. He opened his eyes to see the cat impaled from above, a sword protruded from his bottom.

"That's the third time I've saved your life today"

Ander said as he jumped down from the canopy above, withdrawing his sword from the cat.

"We don't have time to talk. I managed to escape from Ezekiel, but him and Susier are still looking for you. Aaron shuffled his body and tried to get up, but it was no use.

"I'm sorry, but I can't go on any longer. You should go on without me. You can still escape."

Ander did not reply, but knelt down near Aaron. He reached into a sash on his belt and withdrew some sand. Ander used the sand to draw a circle with a star in the middle on Aaron's chest. After the star was complete, he placed both palms on Aaron's chest and pushed. Aaron felt a surge of energy rush through his body. He felt better then he had ever felt in his life. After a few moments, Ander hopped to his feet, his motions noticeably slower then before. He had transferred some of his energy over to Aaron.

"We need to get going" Ander said again, as he darted back into the forest.

Aaron quickly got to his feet and followed. They ran for hours through the thick forest. Although Arron often explored the forest around the village he was far out of the range that he was familiar with. Ander on the other hand seemed to know exactly where he was going. By midafternoon they reached a clearing in the forest.

"We'll stay here for the night." Ander said as he stopped. "I'll place wards around this clearing so we can't be seen. Collect some wood nearby so we can make a fire."

As Aaron collected the wood he saw Ander laid a series of small rocks surrounding the clearing. Over each rock he motioned a series of cantations. When he was done, Ander looked drained. Aaron had the fire prepared by the time night arrived. The two sat in silence as they ate some meat from a small rabbit Ander had caught. Aaron decided to break the silence by trying to find out what had happened.

"So-" he asked, but was cut off from Ander.

"Don't. Not tonight."

"But when? " Aaron questioned. "Those savages from the village where after me. It was my fault this happened. My fault that the village was attacked, my fault that everyone is dead…" he said, staring of into the distance. He remembered his parents, whose bodies now rested under the remains of his house.

"I will explain everything to you, but not tonight" Ander replied. "We have a long journey ahead of us. Prepare for bed, I am going to return to the village to see if there are any survivors while you sleep."

Aaron nearly jumped."I almost forgot! I left my friend Jarron by the village entrance near the Tremolo Mountains. He was seriously injured. If he's not treated he could die soon he may already be dead."

Ander walked towards the edge of the clearing. "Alright, I'll look for him. I have been observing him as well so I know what he looks like." Ander raised the bandana over his face and turned towards Aaron. His red eyes stood out like the fire in the night.

"Now get some sleep. I'll be back soon. And in the morning, I'll tell you everything."


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Aaron awoke to the suns rays glaring off his face. He rubbed his eyes as he slowly became acclimated to the light. So it wasn't a dream, Aaron thought depressingly. A few nights ago he had been camping in the Tremolo Mountains, now he was on the run from a group of men while his village lay in ruins. The campsite was much the same as before he had gone to bed, with one new addition. Jarron lay huddled in blankets a few feet from the remains of the fire. Aaron crawled over to see his friend, who was fast a sleep. Small bandages covered his wounds.

" I found him nearly a corpse" Anders voice came from behind him as we walked in through the forest, carrying a pack of supplies. "I brought him back and cleaned his wounds. I didn't think he would make it, but he seems to have pulled through. Your friend is one fighter."

Ander shuffled around the camp as he packed things into his bag.

"The village was completely destroyed. Other then your friend, I found no survivors. I got all the supplies I could, we will need them for he journey." Ander continued to pack as Aaron sat huddled by his friend.

Soon Jarron began to stir as his eyes opened.

"ohhhh" he moaned, slowly sitting up from his blankets.

"where am I? Are we still hunting, Aaron?"

"Not exactly" Aaron replied as he examined his friend. "Are you okay? A couple of days ago you were attacked by a bear. I had to bring you back to the village by myself. You were dying. I had to leave you by a tree when we got to Duran, the village was under attack!"

"The village was….under attack!" Jarron shouted.

"Oh god, oh god, what happened? Is the village okay? Are you okay? Is my family okay? Where is everyone" Jarron frantically looked around the campsite. His eyes swelled up in shock as he saw Ander packing in the corner. He steadily rocked back on his knees.

"Is….is that the man from the forest" he whispered, fear clear in his eyes. What is he doing here? Did he kidnap us? Is he the one that attacked the village?"

"I can hear every word that you say" Ander shouted across the campsite.

Jarron screeched in fear as he began to thrash about, looking for something he could use as a weapon.

"Calm down" Arron commanded at Jarron as he placed his arm on his shoulder and pushed him back into his makeshift bed. "Yes, that is the man from the forest. His name is Ander, and he helped me escape from the village. Unfortunately…not everyone was as fortunate. The village was massacred by savages. The village could barley even defend itself from the soldiers or the flames. My parents…died from the fire." Small tears gathered at the tips of Arron's eyes. He squeezed his fists together, to try and withhold the wall of emotions inside of him.

"My parent's…. and Marian" Jarron whispered in stupefied shock. "They could be dead, and it's all my fault. I couldn't even save them. We should have never gone on that stupid camping trip, especially when we knew of the danger from that hurt soldier who came to the town earlier. We need to go back to the town. There could be survivors. My parents- "

"Are dead" Ander finished the sentence as he walked towards the two boys. "I have seen the destruction caused by those savages before. They rarely leave any survivors. Besides, it's two dangerous. Those soldiers are still in the area, and they are looking for you two. Were safe in this cantation sphere for now, but I can't guarantee your safety outside of this bubble."

Ander stopped in front of the two. An awkward silence filled the void between them. Jarron broke the silence by jumping to his feet, and taking a wild swing at Ander. Ander easily stepped out of the way. Jarron fell forward with his own weight and crashed to the ground. He screamed in pain as he gripped his side. Ander walked over and stood at his feet. After a few moments, he bent down and helped Jarron up. As soon as Jarron was off the ground he quickly batted Anders hand away.

"We don't need any help from you. We don't even know who you are. You could be one of them. I bet my parents are still alive. Them, and the rest of the villagers."

Ander let out a sigh as he let his head drop.

"I know you two are confused. Things aren't exactly as going as best as they could be. Sit down and let me explain some things to you."

The three of them walked over to the fire and sat down on some logs. Arron sat eagerly waiting for Anders story. Ander had promised him last night that he would explain why the savages and come to the village, and why the strange man named Ezikiel wanted him so badly. Ander shuffled his feet.

"The village was attacked by a man named Ezikiel. Ezikiel has a large army of savages and cantation masters at his disposal. He attacked the village, not for the village itself, but for you. He was looking for you, Arron."

"But…why?" Aaron asked. "

Ander sighed. "That man… is your older brother."

Jarron and Aaron gasped.

"Dude, I didn't know you had an older brother." Jarron piped in. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Wait…" Aaron pondered. "If Ezikiel is my older brother, and your Ezikiel's brother, then that means-"

"Yes… I am also your brother." Ander said, finishing his sentence.

Silence stung the air between the group

"Why didn't you tell me?" Now Aarron was on his feet. "What did you abandon me? Why didn't you try and find me? All this time I have had no idea who my parents where, let alone that I had brothers."

Ander stared quietly at his feet.

" I know, I have been a terrible brother. But you have to realize, there's little I could to. Your parents and I loved you very much. I would have taken you with me, but that would have put you in danger. Ezikiel has been looking for you the past 15 years. You were safest in the village."

"You never answered by question", Arron said. "Why does Ezikiel want me so bad. I realize I'm his brother, but to attack an entire village?"

Ander replied. "Ezekiel's story and life have been very complicated. He and I were raised together in the village of livenrow on this island. Don't bother saying you've never heard of it. It was destroyed fifteen years ago, by Ezikiel. When Ezikiel and I were young, things were not well on the main continent. Imperici was ravaged by poverty and war. Several small rebel factions attacked the continent after becoming fed up with the king Murandel's unresponsive nature to the countries problems. Murandel and his armies struggled with these rebel's, and the continent was in chaos. Doman island was secluded enough that the only connection we had of the conflict were the stories told by visiting merchants."

"However, the kings supply of willing soldiers began to dwindle as more and more citizens decided to join the rebel forces. The king began to send out recruitment groups who would capture young children and men and force them to serve in his army. 21 years ago the king sent a group of soldiers to the Doman islands. When they arrived at Livenrow, they approached the village chief and demanded at least half of the village's children. The village chief refused, so the soldiers murdered him. They plundered the village, stealing all of the children they could find. Ezikiel and I were playing in the field at the time, we were only 12 years old. The soldiers grabbed Ezikiel, but before they could take me our father Joshua saved me. He protected me from the soldiers until they had collected as many children as they desired. Ezikiel watched us as they dragged him off. Hatred buried deep in his heart, at the army for taking him and at our father for not being able to stop them."

"What he experienced under Murandel's control only Ezikiel knows, but it must have been horrific. The shock he experienced was enough to turn his coal black hair white. After a couple of years with the new boost in his forces Murandel was finally able to fend off the rebel armies. Most of the child soldiers Murandel captured did not survive. Ezikiel was one of the lucky ones. After serving in the army Ezikiel was released. But he still had not forgotten the pain and his heart and the anger against the government that had taken him from his home. Ezikiel made some friends in the army, friends that shared that same sentiment against the government as he did. He organized, and sought revenge. His army attacked Murandel's palace. Ezikiel killed him in his sleep."

"The government still survives under Murandel's heir. Ezekiel's army has been at war with the government ever since. He wishes to destroy it and send the country spiraling into oblivion. After killing the king, Ezikiel came for you. He destroyed the village, and killed our parents. Your dad died attempting to save you, I rescued you from his savages, and brought you to Duran. Ezikiel believes that he is the only one that can take care of you. He was hoping you would join him in his fight against the government. That is why he wants you so bad, and that is why I had to leave you in the village"

Aaron thought for a few moments, soaking it all in. His entire perception of his life had changed in just a few moments. His parents did not abandon him. They loved him. Not only did he have just one brother, but two, one of which was crazy and trying to destroy the country. The entire thing was a little too much to handle.

"Wait, so I've been staying in Duran for 15 years. Why didn't Ezikiel find me, and take me again. "

"It's not that he didn't know where you were." Ander replied. "He knew where you were almost the entire time, but I have been watching you as well. Before I left I left you as a baby I placed some forms of protection against him. Do you remember the necklace you always used to wear… until recently?"

"Yes! Aaron replied. "I just traded it to a merchant at the shop. He said it was very worthy… but the merchant was that man from before who attacked us, you said his name was Suiser?"

"Exactly," Ander replied. "The necklace was a transmuter stone, a very powerful one at that. While wearing the stone you could not be physically harmed. The only way for the stone to be removed was for you to remove it intentionally. Ezikiel waited many years until he believed you were old enough. He used Suiser to trick you into removing the stone yourself. Then you were open bait."

"I can't believe my own brother would trick me like that." Arron replied, clenching his fists together. That bastard killed our parents. I can never forgive him for that, even if he is my brother. " Anger welled inside Aaron's body. Anger, at his brother Ezikiel for taking the lives of his parents before he could even get to know them, and anger at himself for cursing his parents all these years for abandoning him.

"Ezikiel has done a lot of wrong in his life." Ander said. "I'm not sure what happened to him while under Murandel's control, but nothing could justify what he has done. He hurt a great many people. He made my life hell after he got out of the army. He took the life of someone very special to me…"

Ander's eyes turned a softer red as he clutched one of the blades at his side. Aaron had never seen these emotions in the man before. All he had seen were the blood red eyes of a fighter. Ander lowered his head band to cover his eyes. They sat like that for a few moments, until Jarron, who had been quiet so far for their entire conversation, finally spoke up.

"So what exactly are we going to do now? As you've said, the village is destroyed, and Ezekiel's army is looking for us. Are we just supposed to stay here until they find us?"

Ander raised his head. " I came here with the intention of bringing Aaron back to the continent. If we get to the capital of Rodonwa, we can seek refuge from the king. I have some contacts in Imperici, they can keep Aaron safe. Ezikiel is not directly after you, Jarron. If you wish to stay on Doman Island, I know some people in Chosi you can stay with. You will be safe. If you come with us, I cannot guarantee your safety. The choice is up to you."

Jarron stared intently at ground, no emotion showed on his face.

"If what you say is true, then this Ezikiel fellow murdered my parents too. You guys aren't the only ones that have got a bone to pick with this guy. We've all lost someone. I'll go with you guys to the kingdom. Arron is my best friend, if there's anyway I can help him, I'll do what ever it takes. That's what friends are for, right?"

Jarron said turning to Aaron. A large smile crossed Aaron's face.

"You bet!" he shouted and gave Jarron a small punch on the shoulder. Ander let out a small chuckle.

"Well it looks like now I'm on babysitting duty. Tomorrow we will head back to the village to see what is left. Then we will head to Chosi. There we can find a boat that we can take to the continent. We should get some sleep. Tomorrow will be the beginning of a new life for the both of you. You better be prepared.


	9. people and places

People:

**Joshua**: Aarons father, dead

**marianna**: arrons mother, dead

**ezekial:** aarons older brother, second son to joshua and marianna. swords name is godkiller.

**Suisier: **one of ezikiels commanders. Cantation master

**Emanuel: **one of ezikiel's commanders. necromancer

**aaron:** third son of joshua and mairanna. brother of ezikiel and ander.

**Jaron**: aarons best friend.

**Ander**: middle brother to ezekial and aaron, _anima giganta_

**Keisha**: Anders old girlfriend, dead

**Murandel: **The old king who sent soldiers to kidnapped Ezikiel when he was a young boy.

minor characters:

**jerimah**: soldier of ezikiel, dead.

**Michael and Elizabeth**: Aaron's foster parents.

**Mark: **farmer at Duran, takes scouters out to look for savages.

**Marian: **girlfriend of Jaron.

Places: Doman Island

**livenrow**: joshua and mariannes hometown, destroyed 15 years ago

**duran**: village that Aaron lives in.

**Tremolo Mountains**: mountain range north of duran.

**Chosi: **Port town south east of duran. Symbol is half moon.

**Miloin: **small village on Doman island east of Duran

**Cator**: small village on the southern coast of Doman a few miles from Chosi.

**Imperici**: The Continent

**Rodanwa: **the capital.

Items:

**Transmuter** stones: jewlry that amplifies power, or creates incantations. Aaron's is gray.

Animals

**Hellcat**: a demented wolf with no skin or hair, rare in some parts of the continent. Used in the army.


	10. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Aaron was awoken early next morning by Ander. The sun had not yet risen. He was surprised to see that the camp was already packed, and that Jarron was ready as well. After Aaron was ready Ander released the bond on the cantation stones surrounding them. They silently crept through the dark forest back toward Duran. Aaron and his friend had no clue where they were, but Ander seemed to know exactly where he was going. They made it back to the village by the time the sun had risen.

The rising sun cast an orange shadow on the remains of the village. The fires were out, but only a few buildings remained standing. Several buildings where missing large chunks out of their sides. All that remained of some was a pile of rubble. Bodies littered the streets, blood caked the dirt and sand red. Several birds picked at bodies nearby. Aside from the occasional squawk from a bird, not a sound could be heard. Ander pushed through the rubble of the village, looking for anything they could bring with them. Aaron and Jarron searched the bodies to see if anyone was alive. Tears dribbled down their face as they witnessed the destruction from before. They saw several bodies of people they had known. Marsha, the village flouriest, Smith, a doctor who was very close to Aaron's family. Men and women. The children and the elderly. No one was safe.

The two traveled to Jarron's house to try and find his parents. His house was one of the last few standing. They unsheathed their blades and crept through the house door. Aaron still had the blade that Ander had given him earlier. The house was dark, and the creak of the door vibrated through the wood. The house had been pillaged. Bookshelves and tables were overturned, clothes and broken plates were scattered throughout the house. The two boys sat in silence for a few moments to examine the destruction. A loud crash came from the kitchen. The two heard it at the same time and rushed towards the room at the back of the house.

A man rustled through the pantry. He threw pots and pans behind him as he dug around. Aaron and Jarron silently approached the man, raising their swords above their heads. The ground was littered with trash and as they approached the man Jarron stepped on a plate. A silent _crack _was enough to alert the man to their presence. The man jumped, nearly banging his head on the top of the pantry. His clothes were ripped and tattered. His head was bald and he had a grey curly beard. Aaron recognized him from the other day when they had found the wounded soldier in the village. He had argued against sending the scouters away from the village. He looked much different now, even though it had only been a few days. He looked much weaker and frailer. His eyes had receded further back into his head. The sight of the two children with their swords must have startled the old man as he tried to scoot as far away as possible.

"Please…please….please spare me. I am just an old man. I can do you no harm."

"Were not here to hurt you" Jarron told him. "Were fellow survivors from the village, we fled during the attack. Where is everyone else?"

The old man stopped, and hesitated before answering. "There were not many survivors. The few that remained were taken by the savages. They were chained and forced to march. They will probably be forced to work for them, and may be sold as slaves. I hid in the forest and was not taken."

Jarrons's face brightened. "That's good news, right Aaron? My parents could still be alive. Yours could be too."

"That's impossible…" Aaron said solemnly. "I saw my parents dead right in front of me. And besides, there's no way they could has escaped that fire or the collapsing building. But he's right about your parents. Old man, did you see where they were taking the villagers?"

" Yes" the old man replied. "They were heading down the road to the east coast, towards Chosi. I'm sorry, but if they make it to Chosi, the chance that you will ever see your parents again is very slim. They will likely be sold into slavery and could be shipped throughout the world. If they leave this island, it could be impossible to find them. You must understand, there was nothing I could do. If I had tried to stop them, they would have gotten me too."

"We don't blame you old man," Jarron replied. "We should head back and find Ander. He's probably already waiting for us. Are you coming with us old man?" The old man huffed and continued shuffling through the pantries. "I think I'll stay here. This town is much safer then the rest of this god forsaken island."

Arron and Jarron pushed there way through the rest of the house looking for the remains of Jarron's parents, but they found no bodies which only increased Jarron's hopes that his parents had been taken. They arrived at the center of the village to find Ander waiting with three bags of supplies. The three prepared their packs, and headed for the outskirts of the village. On the way to the exit they passed the remains of Arron's house. All that remained was a pile of rubble. Somewhere under that rubble were the bodies of his parents. Someday, he would return and give them a proper burial and ceremony. They left the village through the southeast exit.

The road led to Chosi and several other smaller towns on the way. The forest surrounded the village on both sides, the only direction they group could see was straight in front of them. Ander took two rings from his back pocket and placed them on his index fingers. He flashed a cantation that took several moments. When he was done the rings on his fingers flashed. Two small birds flew from the rings on his finger. One was a fiery red, while the other a watery blue. The birds circled in the air before landing on his outstretched hand.

"These birds will watch the forest around us to look for Ezikiel and his men" he said as the birds took off into the woods surrounding them. "If they see or sense anything, they will tell us. We should be safe."

"Well what the hell kind of birds are those?" Jarron questioned. "I've certainly never seen birds like that before, and why did they come out of your rings? Are they cantations?"

Ander gave Jarron an annoyed look. "Yes, they are cantations, a special kind. They are called summon cantations. They take an enormous amount of energy. They animal's spirit is stowed inside the ring, and can only be activated with cantation magic."

"Wow, that's pretty awesome" Jarron said as he walked. "Can I have one? I'm pretty good at the whole cantation thing, aren't I Arron?"

Ander replied, "I don't care how good you think you are, summoning is much too difficult for either of you at this stage. You'd probably just hurt yourself."

"I think I've seen some summoning before." Arron piped in. "When I was in the forest earlier, Susier waved his arms around. A circle appeared, and a hellcat jumped out.

"Yes," Ander said. "Summoning hellcats is a pretty advanced form of summoning, it requires much more energy then summoning birds like I just did. Susier is a very skilled cantation user."

An annoyed look crossed Arron's face.

"I don't understand the whole cantion thing." He lifted us his ring to show Ander his fire ring. "I bought this cantation stone, but I can't seem to use it. Whenever I try, I can feel the power inside me, but I can't figure out how to release it. It's not the stone, Jarron used it just fine. There's something wrong with me. The only time I was able to use it was when I saved Jarron from a bear in the forest."

Ander gave Arron a look of understanding. "The reason you were having trouble is because of the necklace stone. All transmuter stones require energy to work. The necklace I gave you has been draining energy from you for the past 15 years. After you took it off, your body was not used to expressing cantation energy in another form. Your body needs time to recharge. When you saved Jarron in the forest, the excitement pumped up your adrenaline and freely opened up the flow of energy. That adrenaline blast blew out a big chunk of energy, and may have been why you had trouble in the village with Susier."

"Wow," Arron said staring down at his hands as he walked. "So do you think that if I tried again now it would work?"

"Probably" Ander said. "Why not give it a try?"

Arron raised his fists in the air. He focused on the dirt ground in front of him. He flashed his arms to his side. A small fire erupted on the ground in front of him.

"Whoa!" Jaron exclaimed. "Nice job buddy! That's sure an improvement."

"Yes, very nice." Ander said. "Your body is still low on energy, and your still a novice. But we have a long journey to Rodonwa. I will train both of you in cantation magic and fighting. By the time I'm done, you guys will be as good as soldiers."


	11. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The three continued to walk down the trail to late at night. They set up a small camp off the side of the road in a nook in the forest. They awoke the next day and continued down the trail. The trail narrowed as the trees got taller, covering the road below. By midday they arrived at the small village of Miloin. Miloin was built next to a cliff, which towered over the village. Worried about a trap, the three climbed the cliff to look down at the village below.

"I don't see anyone." Ander said. "But there's smoke coming out of those chimes. There's a strange mound in the center of the village, it could be wood or supplies."

"Where do you think everyone is?" Arron asked. "Do you think it's a trap?"

"Well" Ander replied. "There's only one way to find out."

The three approached the village, and entered through a side gate. The squeak of the gate stood out against the silence of the village.

"HELLLLOOO" Jargon yelled. "IS THERE ANYONE HERE!"

Ander shot Jarron death glares as he reached for the sword at his side and reached a defense stand. Either the village was empty, or no one was responding to Jaron's shouting. The three made their way towards the center of the village. They rounded a house and got their first look at the village center and the mysterious pile. Aaron wished it had been his last. Piled in the center of the village was a mountain of corpses. Swords and arrows protruded from limp bodies. Several bodies were pierced together by spears. The entire village had been murdered. These villagers had met the same fate as the villagers of Duran. Arron kneeled over as puke flowed from his mouth. Jarron was in the same situation. Only Ander seemed unaffected by the slaughter.

"They must have stopped here on their way to or from Duran" he said as he walked towards the corpses. He knelt down and picked up a small child's doll. Blood covered it's clothing.

"This….this is disgusting." Arron said as he slowly got to his feet. "Who would do this? Why would they do this? These villagers meant nothing to them."

Ander stared down at his feet, his hand sliding over the blade at his side.

"You have met the people who are responsible for this, and I'm afraid now you have now seen what they are willing to do."

A small noise from one of the houses near by alerted Ander as his slight grasp on his blade turned into a strong grip.

"Someone else is here."

Jarron and Arron crept forward as they made their way towards the building where they had heard the noise. Laughter could be heard from around the building. The three peeped around the corner to see four soldiers sitting in a circle. In the middle of the circle was a small boy. The soldiers took turns prodding the boy with the tips of their blades. Blood seeped from small wounds on the boys body. He cried in frustration as he tried to escape, but the soldiers held a tight circle around him. Arron growled in anger as he charged at the ground of soldiers.

"Arron, wait, dammit!" Ander screamed.

Arron's charging footsteps and Anders scream signaled the soldiers. The turned around to face the on coming threat. The small boy got to his feet and took off through the village. Aaron got to the soldiers first. His sword flashed awkwardly in the air as he tried to slash at the nearest soldier. The soldier parried the blade and pushed Arron away.

By this time Ander had arrived. The already preoccupied soldier did not see Ander coming. Ander rammed the soldier in the chest with his shoulder as the soldier prepared to finish Aaron off. The armored man stumbled backwards and crashed into a box near by. He tried to get to his feet, but Ander finished him off with a frontal slash of his sword down the man's torso. Now there were only three men left.

By this time Jarron had arrived almost out of breath, but sword held high. The three remaining men raised their swords to protect themselves. They eyed Ander nervously. Anders eye cover was raised, revealing his scarring red eyes. Blood dribbled from the tip of his blade. The man on the left was the first to move. Viewing Arron as the weaker target, he pounced. Arron raised his sword in enough time to block his blow. The two other soldiers quickly engaged with Jarron and Ander.

The sound of metal on metal echoed through the cramped village. Arron continued to block the swings from the soldier, but he was not able to get any swings in for himself. Jarron and Ander did not seem to be fairing any better. The soldiers blows kept knocking him off balance. Ander even seemed to be struggling with his foe. Ander kept taking blows, but he was not able to return any back. The man he was fighting seemed nervous, but his cockiness rose as his blows pushed Ander closer and closer to the wall. Soon Anders back was against the wall. The soldier let out a laugh as he plunged his sword forward at Anders chest. In a flash of speed Aaron had jumped in the air moments before the sword crashed in the wooden house behind him. Ander landed gently on the tip of the blade above the man. The soldier tried to yank the blade out from under him, but it was deeply embedded in the wall. Ander brought his blade down deep into the man's skull. Blood and bone spurted out of the man's body, covering him.

Meanwhile Jarron's foe had managed to push him to the ground. Ander saw from his perched position and pulled a small wooden dart out of his pocket. He expertly flicked it at the man before he could bring his blade down on Jarron. Foam erupted from the man's throat as he fell to the ground. The soldier fighting Arron saw this entire happening. Terror filled his eyes as he suddenly stopped swinging. The man immediately took off through the alley between the two nearby houses. Arron took off after him through the alley in a blind furry.

The chase weaved through the surrounding buildings. The soldier bounced off the surrounding houses as he tried to escape. Arron made no progress catching up to the man. He began to slow down as he lost his strength. Slowly the soldier got further away. Aaron knew that if he didn't do anything the soldier would get away. He saw the ring on his finger. It probably wouldn't work, but he could try a fire spell again. It would be even harder running. Aaron sheathed his sword and concentrated on the man in front of him. Energy began to coarse through his body. With a swing of his arms he released the energy within him.

A small fireball erupted from his palms. It shot forward towards the fleeing man. The flame impacted at the man's hand. He dropped his sword as his sleeve got fire. He stumbled back as he tried to put out the fire, crashing into the wall near him. Arron strode forward withdrawing his blade from the sheath. The fire was now out, but the man could not move. Aaron raised his sword above the soldier. The soldier did not try to move. His face showed no regret, remorse, or fear. The two stayed like that for several moments. The only sound that could be heard was the sound of wind threw the narrow streets.

"Why?" Arron asked the man. A smirk crossed his face. Blood and burned flesh caked his arm where the fire had started.

"I enjoy it, why else. I especially enjoy killing the women. Oh how they scream-,"

A small puff of air escaped the man's lips as Aaron pushed his blade through the man's chest. His eyes rolled back into his eyes as his body went limb. Arron withdrew his blade and the man's body crumbled to the floor.

"You didn't need to do that" Ander said as he approached. Jarron hobbled behind, clearly out of breath

"Yes…I did." Arron replied, staring down at his feet.

"This man is a monstrosity. Any one who kills for enjoyment is inhumane. These people killed my parents, and everyone else in the village. They deserve the same fate as the fate they have bestowed on their victims. Ander examined Arron and his blade.

"Whatever you say. Now what are you going to call that blade, now that you've taken your first life?" he said, tapping Aarons blade with the hilt of his own.

"What do you mean" he asked. Ander huffed.

"It's an old tradition, but one that some still follow. A soldier often names his blade after he has taken his first life with it. The blades name is usually given based on the name or status of the life taken, or the position of the taker."

"Hmm" Arron pondered. "Retribution"

"That's not a bad name, but why that?" Ander said

"Because, with this blade I shall bring punishment down upon those who deserve it. For men like these, the only retribution I can give them is death."

Ander let out a small chuckle. "So serious. Well if that's what you want to name it." He walked over and examined the man. He began to shuffle through his pockets. When he was ready he go to his feet and sheathed his sword.

"We should get going. There may be other soldiers in the village that could have heard us. We should continue on."

Arron and Jarron followed after him as they set of down the road.

"So, Ander." Jarron asked. "If all soldiers name their blades after the first lives they take, what's the name of your blade?"

A gloom look of emotion overtook Ander's eyes. Arron and Jarron thought he was on the verge of pulling out his blade and killing both of them. After a few moments, he loosened his grip on the blade.

"Keisha" he said, as he turned around and walked down the road alone.


	12. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Although Arron and Jarron wanted to know who Keisha was, they said no more about it. They camped that night not far from the village. The next day they continued on. By early morning they had left the confines of the forest and entered the open planes. Although it was a relief to be out of the forest and into somewhere more open, it was a lot more dangerous. Small hills covered the planes. If someone was on top of one of the hills, they could see them clearly. Ander had been silent since the incident yesterday, but his gloom had seemed to fad away with the change of scenery.

"That was a good spell you cast yesterday." He said. "Doing a cantation while running is hard work. Especially for someone who has never done it before."

A sheepish look crossed Arron's face.

"That was the strongest cantation I have done since the woods. That one was much stronger then the one I did before."

"The one from the forest was so strong because you and your friend were in a danger. Love and anger are both powerful emotions, which is why you were able to perform both cantations. However, you both need to learn how to use cantations no matter the circumstance, without using transmuter stones."

That night the trio set up camp behind a small hill using hidden cantation stones so they could not be found. They built a fire, and Ander showed them some basic cantation tricks.

"The most important technique is to remain absolutely focused on the hand signals. The proper hand signals are the key to opening the door to your inner power. Hand signals signify to your body which spell you wish to perform, and how much energy you want to release. Tonight we will start by practicing the basic spell for water, the opposite of fire. These are the two most basic cantations"

Ander showed them the hand motions for water, a hand palm pushed forward. He demonstrated the spell for them. A fountain of water gushed out of his palm, extinguishing the fire before him.

"Now it's your turns" he said.

Arron and Jarron took turns trying to perform the cantation. Aaron stood perfectly still, closing his eyes. He focused on the tips of his right hand. He brought his hand forward into a palm, but he pushed too hard and almost tripped himself. Jarron was not doing much better. Jarron could be heard grunting across the camp, trying to conjure the spell.

"Don't try so hard!" Ander screamed. "Let it come naturally. Just focus on the movements, do them as slick as possible."

"Easy for him to say" Jarron mumbled under his breath. "It comes easy enough to him."

The training continued for an hour, but neither where able to conjure a water spell.

They continued their cantation training at nights with some progress. Jarron was the first able to conjure a water spell, on the third night of their training. Closing his eyes, he swiveled his arms. A small bubble erupted from his hand, hitting the fire. The bubble was too small to extinguish the fire, but it was progress. Arron performed a water spell the next day completely extinguishing the fire. Ander taught the boys other basic spells, such as lighting and wind. He also began to train them in fighting. Although the boys had spared together almost their entire life, sparring was much different from fighting someone with the intent to kill.

"Never take your eyes off your opponent or opponents." Ander said, facing Arron in a crouching attack position. " Arron faced Ander in an offensive position. They both held sparring swords forward. He could only see him from the light shinning on him from the fire. It was pitch black out side. Arron followed him slowly as they made their way around the fire. He had to look away for a second to make sure he didn't step on the fire. When he looked up Ander was gone. A whack cut across Arron's back. He fell forward, straight towards the fire. His fall was stopped as Ander caught his shirt from behind.

"As I said, never take your eye off an opponent."

After a couple of nights Arron quickly caught on, much faster then Jarron did. Ander could still kick his butt, but at least he could hold his own for a while.

Traveling through the plains was slow. They could only travel at certain parts of the day to stop from being seen. They managed to sneak past a couple groups of soldiers without being noticed. Wildlife was also scarce. They took turns getting food on the way, hunting wolves, horses, and griffons. After 5 days of traveling through the plains they arrived at a hill overlooking the ocean. Gigantic waves collided into the rock wall, creating a deafening sound. Sea birds flew around and nestled on rocks. There was no beach below them, but small caves were built into the hill below them.

"Chosi is still several miles to the east." Ander said. We will follow the ocean till we get there. For tonight, though I believe it is time to stop. We can spend the night in one of these caves."

The group carefully made their way down the side of the cliff resting slightly above the reach of the waves. Arron and Jarron made a fire, while Ander caught several fish. That night they built a small fire and cooked their catch. After eating dinner, they huddled around the fire, waiting for it to burn out.

"So, how big exactly is Chosi." Jarron questioned Ander.

"Compared to some of the towns in Imperici, it is not that big, but compared to the other villages on this island, it's like it's own country."

"Wow." Jarron "Ezekiel's army must be pretty strong he could capture a town that size. Do you think that there's still a chance Ezikiel could be in the town? What about my parents?"

Ander looked uncomfortable answering.

"Well, yes, there is a pretty big chance that Ezikiel is still here. He's no doubt looking for Aaron still. Your parents though, I'm not sure. It has been quite a while since the village has been attacked. Your parents may have already been shipped back to the continent…"

"So, what exactly are we going to do when we get to Chosi?" Arron questioned. Ander turned to face him.

"I have some…contacts, in Chosi. They will help sneak us out. We will steal a boat they usually reserve for shipping slaves. It's a big boat, my contacts can help us pilot the boat. We will take it to the continent. We will then head to Rodanwa."

Arron sighed. "We'll when you put it like that it sounds easy. I don't know about you to, but I'm going to go to bed. It's been a long da-."

A crunch of rock came from the front of the cave. The three instinctively reached over and grabbed their swords. No more noise came, except the waves and relentless rain. After a few moments, a small girl stepped into the foot of the tunnel. She wore tattered garments, and her hair was mess. She wore no shoes and her feet were bloody. Her eyes were hidden from the darkness of the cave. Jarron let out a sigh of relief and pushed his sword aside..

"It's just a little girl. What's wrong little girl? Have you lost your family?" Come here we'll take care of you. Sweet little girl."

The small child crept further into the cave. The girls face could now be seen. Her eyes shown unnaturally white. Ander gasped.

"Stand back" he said raising his sword.

"Whoa, whoa, mr. Ninja." Jarron yelled. "She's just a little girl, she's not a savage."

That's where you're wrong." Ander said, unsheathing his sword.

"Ezikiel has found us."

The girl smiled, showing a row of crooked and sharp teeth. Then, she attacked.


	13. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The girl rushed towards them at a speed Arron had not seen. Ander was already on his feet. Before the girl could attack he was on her. He grabbed her by the throat and held her in the air. The girl squirmed as she tried to escape his grip. Ander carried her over to the edge of cave. Without hesitating he flung her down into the rocks and waves below.

"Woah," Jarron huffed surprised, jumping to his feet. "You just killed that innocent child."

"Innocent?" Arron questioned. "I don't think so. That girl wanted to kill us."

Ander turned to them.

"She may have been a girl at one point, but not anymore. We need to retreat further into the caves. There are bound to be more of them following us."

"More?" Jarron said, horrified. "One was scary enough."

Ander grabbed his bag and led the boys further into the network of caves. Ander summoned a light farie so they could see their way. The network of caves was extensive. All Arron could heat was their footsteps and the patter of rain as it seeped through the rock around them. After walking for several minutes they arrived at a leeway that split into several other tunnels. They stopped to catch our breath.

"So if that wasn't a girl, what exactly was it?" Jarron asked.

"It was a girl, at one point. She is now just a corpse. They are called the reborn. People known as necromancers can bring the dead back to life under their control. The reborn have no self-control. They are just puppets of their masters."

Arron spat in disgust.

"Who would do something like that? How?" he said. "

Ander looked up. "It requires serious skill and very difficult cantation spells. It also requires surgical skills as well. All reborn have artificial organic hearts attacked to their back. The heart has veins attached that pump blood into the body through the body. Without this blood they would not be able to move. The heart also controls their nervous system. They receive orders from their master through cantations."

"Well why would a necromancer be after us? Arron questioned. Ander hesitated.

"Ezikiel has several necromancers under his command. In fact, he has a very powerful Necromancer on his side. His name is Emanuel.

"Emanuel?" Jarron questioned. "So exactly how strong his this guy? Stronger then you?"

A smile crept up Anders face. "You remember Susier?"

"Yeah, that guy was wicked powerful!" Jarron replied.

"Well, Susier is a member of Ezekiel's five star generals. The five star generals command different facets of Ezekiel's army. These members are the strongest in his entire army. Each man could wipe out a small army on his. Emanuel is also one of these generals. Susier specializes in general cantations, while Emanuel specializes in revitalization cantation and practices."

Arron gave Ander a surprised look. " These two men are that powerful? And there's still three other men who are equally as strong. What can they do?"

"Well-"

Ander started to say as a man covered in rags jumped from the shadows. Within seconds he had his arms rapped in a stranglehold around Ander. Before Arron or Jarron could stop him two other men were on them.

"I..I can't move!" Arron shouted, trying to shake the man off him. The man's grip was like an ox. No normal man his size could have that strong of a grip. The men made no sound, except for a slight hackle. Their eyes were bleach white.

"Good job men!" a loud, slimy voice boomed from the shadows. "I might have to give you a pay raise. If I paid you! Of course, money means nothing to puppets like these."

A shadowy figure stepped out from the shadows of the caves. He wore a brown rope with a light robe tied around him. Although he had a hood on, it could not hide his face. Scars covered his face from bottom to top. His lip and ears were split open in some parts. His arms also contained gashes and bruises. He had a slight bump on his back. Markings covered the man's palms and arms. He carried chains in his left arm.

"Emanuel" Ander said, grasping for breath as he tried to escape the grip of reborn holding him.

"I see you have meet my friends" he chuckled. Arron continued to fight against the man holding him.

"There's no use fighting" He said. My Reborn have twice the strength of a regular human. When I create them, I give them extra strength. They are more useful then regular soldiers, and you don't have all the mess afterward!"

Finally, Arron could not fight any longer, he surrendered to the man holding him. Ander and Jarron soon gave up as well.

"Well that's better!" Emannuel shouted!" "Now, say goodnight for me. Enjoy your rest. Ezikiel will be waiting to his two long lost brothers." Emanuel raised his hand. Arron's eyes flashed, and in a moment he was gone.

Arron awoke feeling groggy and sore. His head ached as if he had been bludgeoned with a rock. Slowly, he recovered his movement enough to sit up and examine his surroundings. He sat huddled inside a small cell, alone. The walls were made of wood, and the bars iron. The cell was clearly old and not very sturdy. The walls were pealing and the bars were rusty and flimsy. Two reborn stood outside of his cell. Their artificial hearts could be seen through their clothing. Their bodies contorted as blood flowed from the heart into their bodies though large veins.

Arron knew that he could easily break the flimsy bars using a simple fire cantation if he made it big enough. Arron drew within the energy inside him, but he could not find any available. His energy reserve must have somehow been trained from him while he was asleep. It would take time for the energy to recharge, and by that time Ezikiel would be there. He reached through the bars and tried to grab the keys from the back pocket from the nearest reborn, but eventually he gave up. There was nothing he could do but wait. After waiting a couple of hours some food was brought for him. A small piece of bread was slipped through the bars. He devoured it instantly, hoping to get enough energy to perform a cantation.

Unfortunately, not soon after he was given the food a group of reborn came. A human led them dressed in fine armor. All were armed with a sword at their side.

"Get up!" the man shouted. "Someone wants to see you. They have a special reception planned in your honor."

The soldier opened the cell, and the group of reborn flooded in. They picked Arron up by the arms and he willingly went with him. There was little he could do. They carried him down a long hallway down the hallway past other empty cells eventually leading him to a small set of doors. The pushed him through the doors…

into the heart of a village outside. The dark of night eclipsed the sky above. The loud crashing of the beach could be heard from not far away. There were not very many buildings in the village, and most were spread out. The houses were shaped like small huts with a cone roof. The village was mostly empty, except for the reborn that had led him out of the building he had been in. Ander and Jarron stood below him, also surrounded by reborn. They continued walking through the village, and Arron was shoved next to Ander and Jarron.

"Where are we"he asked?'

Ander replied, somewhat worried. "Judging by where we are, we must be in the village of Cator on the southern coast of Doman Island. We are still a couple of miles west of Chosi. I'm not entirely sure where all the people are. It seems as if the village was abandoned.

"Or, maybe they were all killed." Jarron replied. "And turned into reborn. There sure are a lot of reborn here."

"That makes sense…" Ander replied. "At this rate they must have captured the entire island. They may be causing a bigger problem to Imperici and the surrounding islands then I anticipated…"

"We need to find a way to get out of here." Arron whispered.

"I'm working on it." Ander hissed back as he fiddled with his hands.

Now that they were compressed together the guards no longer constrained their hands. Ander reached down and pulled what appeared to be small hair tie from his left leg. He took the tie and attached to his arm. By this time they had almost arrived at the beach and were nearing a break in the houses.

"When I say run, run" he whispered."

In a flash Ander push aside the guards around him, reaching for the artificial hearts in their back. He ripped them out, blood spewing across the group. The two reborn fell to the ground. He then reached down and grabbed their two swords. He kept one and threw the other to Arron.

"Now run!" he said.

The three made their way towards the break in the houses. The reborn tried to over run them, but they managed to push them away them away with their swords. When they got to the alleyway, Ander knocked over several large barrels and sent them charging towards the reborn. "That should keep them preoccupied for a while." They charged down the alleyway, running in and out of houses to try and keep hidden.

"We need to get back to the place we were being held. They won't suspect us to back track, and we can get our weapons."Ander said.

"What was in that hair band you slipped onto your finger?" Jarron asked.

"I had stored energy in there. It's not a transmuter stone, so the guards did not think to confiscate us when they took our energy."

After a few minutes running the group made it back to the prison. There was a reborn waiting for them. He charged at Jarron, sword raised. The reborn swung his blade but Jarron swerved to the left as the blade came down right where he had been standing. Arron came behind the reborn and plunged his sword into his back. He left the blade inside the reborn as they continued into the building. They found their belongings behind a desk near where they had been held.

"Now what do we do?" Jarron asked, who was almost keeling over in exhaustion.

"We need to leave the village and head toward Chosi. It seems things are worse then I expected. We need to get boat and get off this island as fast as possible."

The three silently made their way to the back exit of the building. The exit looked out into a small forest behind the village. They crept through the forest in the opposite direction of the village. After they were a few feet from the house they hid behind a tree to look back at the village. They could see the shapes of reborn and soldiers as they ran about trying to find their escapees.

"I think we might be safe." Arron whispered.

"Oh I wouldn't be to sure of that." A smooth voice behind Arron replied.

Behind them stood Emanuel. He still wore the same hood, and held the chain in his hand. Four unborn crept out from the tree's behind him.

"I've got you right where I want you."


	14. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Arron, Ander, and Jarron stood crouched with arms by their weapons as they watched Emanuel. The group of reborn began to circle around them through the forest until they were surrounded. Emanuel raised his chained hands and began clapping.

"Not bad, not bad" he said. "I see you have out smarted my reborn. Although reborn aren't exactly known for their brains."

The reborn around him stood staring, no expression could be made from their faces.

"Now, Ezikiel is waiting for you three off the coast on a boat. You wouldn't want to keep him waiting now, would you?"

"I don't give a damn about what Ezikiel wants" Ander said, fingering the blade at his side.

"Ah, touchy touchy" Emannuel replied. "Well if you won't come willingly-"

the four unborn crept closer to them.

"What are we going to do?" Arron whispered to Ander. "My energy has been drained, I can't do any cantation's. I probably don't even have enough energy to fight."]

"Let me handle that." Ander said smiling.

He raised the hand that he had rapped the hair band around. The reborn continued to approach. When they had gotten a few feet from them, Ander threw his hand down, punching the ground. He grunted and screamed as his hand cracked from the collision. The ground before them began to shake. Emmanuel's smile turned into a frown as he tried to maintain his balance. A small hole appeared in the ground where Ander had punched. A hand made of rock rose from the hole and began to claw its way out. From the hole rose a monster composed of rock and sediment. He stood a few feet higher then a normal man, and several times as large. His magma red eyes stared down at the reborn in front of him.

With one swipe of his arm he wiped out the two nearest reborn. Another reborn tried to charge him, but he grabbed the man in his gigantic fist. The reborn squirmed as the rock giant raised him into the air. He swung his arm back and threw the man into a tree several feet away. The reborn hit the tree back first, squishing the artificial heart against the tree. The reborn fell to the ground, lifeless. The last reborn was now swinging his sword at the giants back, but his sword had little effect on rock. The rock giant swung his arm back, squishing the man's head like a rotting fruit. With all the reborn defeated the rock giant turned to face Emanuel. Sweat dripped from Emanuel's face as he stared at the imposing giant before him.

"Damn you all!" he yelled as he grabbed a satchel from his waist and threw it to the ground.

A puff of smoke erupted around Emanuel. Jarron tried to run towards the smoke to stop Emanuel before he got away, but Ander snatched his shirt. When the smoke had cleared, all that could be seen of Emanuel was a shadow of him far in the distance.

"Why did you let him get away?" Jarron asked. "We had him!"

"Emanuel is a lot stronger then you give him credit for. Controlling the dead isn't his only skill."

"So where exactly did you get the energy to summon, especially something that big!" Jarron said pointing to the giant before them. The rock giant now stood towards them. He lowered himself to one knee, which was heavy enough to rock the forest around them.

ˇI used this hair band I have on my arm to store some of my energy in case I needed it. The guards probably didn't realize what it was."

"So how did you summon the giant?" Arron questioned. "I didn't see you place any jewelry on your body after we took our bags.

"That's because this rock giant, or _giganta _as he's known as, is my _anima_.

"Wait…what's an _anima_?" Jarron asked.

"An _anima _is part of our spirit. As humans, we all have an animal familiar. Using cantanology we can summon these _anima _from inside our soul. It takes a lot of practice, and can usually only be attained after reaching a "breaking point" where you experience something terrible or life threatening. As long as your _anima _is called forth it is like losing a part of yourself. You feel drained, and as if part of you is missing."

Ander turned to his _Anima _and put out his palm. _Giganta _lowered his head, and in an instant turned into a ball of light. The light flew towards Anders outstretched palm and disappeared inside his body.

"Hopefully you two twill never experience an awakening. Although _anima _can be useful, the sacrifice or suffering it takes to achieve the awakening is terrible…"

Ander remained silent as he stared into the deep recesses of the forest. After a few moments he came back to reality.

"We need get going. By now Emanuel has made it back to the village and warned Ezikiel of his escape. If we hurry, we can hide in the forest and make it to Chosi by tomorrow. We are very close."

The three gathered their supplies, and made their way through he silent forest away from the village.

Their trip lasted much of the night and next day. The forest hid them from Ezekiel's men, and after a few hours the forest became mountainous. The small mountains dotted the shore. They trekked through the cracks between between the hills, climbing steadily higher. The air became thin, and the nights chilly. Ander made a fire every night, to keep them warm. They huddled together in their tent to share their body heat. They continued there training in the mountain peaks. The elevation helped increase their stamina. Hunting was much easier in the mountains, and they could hunt without much worry of being seen. Birds and rabbits provided small meals, but together they managed to take down a large bear. The bear gave them a feast for the night, and food for several days. The journey through the small chain of mountains did not take long, and by the fourth night, they had reached the peaks on the opposite sides.

Before them lay the town of Chosi. The town was surrounded by mountains on the North and West. The vast dark ocean stretched beyond their view from the east and south. Chosi was a port town. Several boats could be seen entering and leaving harbors on both sides of the town exposed to the village. Unlike the small village of Duran, Chosi was a clustered town with large towers. It was night and the town lights lit up the village.

"Woah" Jarron exclaimed as he stared down at the village. "I've never seen anything like it."

"This is the town of Chosi, the biggest town on Duran." Ander said. "All major exports and imports, as well as traveling, go through Chosi. I have contacts in this city. They will take us on a boat from here to Imperici. We will then go to the capital Rodanwa, where we will hopefully meet up with king Jermael."

"Good…" Arron replied as he observed the village below. "I'm tired of all this running. I want to be of some use instead of just a burden.

"You are definitely not a burden, although I'm not sure I can say the same about your friend…" Ander pointed to Jarron.

"Hey!" Jarron yelled.

"You both are of vital importance. Arron, when trained together we may be strong enough to stop our brother. He's our family, so he's our responsibility."

"Gotcha" Arron said. "I'll do whatever it takes."

"Not to interrupt this touching family moment," Jarron chimed in, "but what's up with their freaky flag?"

On the largest tower of Chosi stood a waving flag. The flag was black, and hard to make out in the night. But the symbol was very distinctive. Ander gasped in shock.

"Damn… we are already to late."

"To late for what?" Arron asked.

"Getting through Chosi may be harder then I though. That symbol is Ezekiel's _animus_. He has seized control of Chosi."

On the waving flag was a white snake. The snake seemed to slither across the canvas. The snake's large fangs were exposed, along with its ruby red eyes staring back at them.


	15. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Ander, Arron, and Jarron crouched inside of a caravan headed for the gates of Chosi. The caravan was packed with oranges and other fruits. They wore white garbs and headbands covering their face. It would also hide their identity. Ezikiel had more then likely informed the guards what they looked like and told them to be on the lookout. The area outside the city was dusty. No plant or animal could be seen in the surrounding area. The city walls towered over the caravan and is wobbled towards the city.

The cart stopped by the gate as the guards talked to the driver. No guards came to check the back of the caravan. After a few moments the caravan began to move again, into the city. It was a busy day, and the guards didn't have time to check the contents of all the vehicles. The vehicle drove further into the city. A few minutes later the truck stopped.

"The driver might be getting ready to unload his wares" Ander said. "We should leave now before he sees."

The three slipped out of the caravan into the bustling streets of Chosi. It was the middle of the day, and the town was alive with commerce and activity. Giant towers and buildings surrounded them on all sides. Merchants lined the sides, shouting out their wares. Townspeople wandered the streets. They strolled lazily, as if they were just wandering with no purpose. Very few of them stopped to talk and socialize. Most looked gloomy as they walked around. Groups of soldiers bearing the snake of Ezekiel symbol on their chest plates and shields patrolled the streets.

"Woa…" Jarron said, amazed at the big town. "This town is huge! It makes Duran seem like an ant hill!"

"Wipe that stupid look off your face." Ander said. "It makes you stand out. This town is a lot different then the last time I was here. Ezekiel's presence has had a serious impact on the morale of the town.

"Well now that we are here, how we are supposed to get a boat?" Arron questioned. "I seriously doubt all of these soldiers are going to let us take a boat out of here, especially since they are all looking for us."

"Like I told you, I have informants in Chosi." Ander said, clearly annoyed. "They can help us get out of here. They can also give us information about Ezikiel and the continent. Follow me, I know how to contact them."

Arron and Jarron followed Ander deeper into the town. The buildings seemed to get nicer towards the town center. At the middle of the town stood a tall building. The flag of snake they had seen earlier flew at the top.

"This is the town center" Ander said. "The leader of the town lives in there, whoever that is. Judging by the state of this city, I would say its Ezekiel or one of his commanders."

More of the soldiers with the snake crest patrolled around the tower. Ander led Arron and Jarron away from the tower to the east. As they got further away from the tower, the buildings got noticeably shadier. Many of the buildings were peeling, and wood was rotting off. Several houses had broken in windows. There were less people walking around, but the ones walking around were much scarier then the ones from before. They wore shabby clothes, and some had a hunch to the way they walked. One man was missing a leg, and his beard was crusted over.

"These are the slums of Chosi." Ander informed them. "The poor have always lived here. The part we passed through earlier was the "nice" part of town. Judging by the shape of those people, Ezekiel's takeover has hit the whole town hard. Things must be especially difficult in the slums."

After a few more minutes of walking down the road Ander led them down a side alley. They walked up to a door build into the wall of one of the buildings. A man sat hunched by the door. His face was covered by a wide brimmed hat. He twirled a knife in his hands. Jarron stared down at the man anxiously, trying to keep himself behind Ander. Ander let out a small chuckle.

"Don't worry, he's not going to hurt us." He said to them.

He turned to face the man. Ander reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small coin. The coin had the insignia of an eagle on it. He threw the coin down into the lap of the man with the knife. The man picked up the coin and began to observe it, front and back. Finally, he looked up at them. His face was covered in scars, and he was missing some teeth.

"She's been waiting for you" he said.

"It couldn't be helped." Ander replied. "In any matter, I have found the boy, as you can see."

"I can see that" the man replied. "Although I don't see why they're two of them. Either way she will be happy to see you. Follow me."

The man got up and opened the door he had be sitting in front of. The door led to a staircase, which led under the building. The tunnel was dark except for small candles, which hung on the wall. They followed the man down the tunnel deep underground.

"I don't trust this man, he creeps me out." Arron whispered to Ander.

"Don't worry," Ander replied. "He's one of the informants I told you about. His name is Cent. He is going to help us get out of here."

Cent continued to lead them down the tunnel until he got to another door. The door opened into a large room. Chairs and tables filled the room, as well as a bar table against one of the walls.

"Make yourself at home. There are drinks at the bar if you'd like one. I'll go get Sherl"

They sat down at one of the tables to wait. Ander looked relived to finally be here.

"So… who is this Sherl person?" Jarron asked Ander, whispering across the table. "Is she hot? She sound's kind of scary."

"Sherl is the resistance leader against Ezekiel living in this village. She works under Jermael. She leads a strong band of rebels in this village. She can be scary, I wouldn't want to be on the end of her blade when she's mad."

"I'll take that as a compliment." A strong, but feminine voice came from across the room.

Standing by the hair was one the most well built and attractive women Arron had ever seen. Her short leather shorts revealed her muscular legs, and her leather shirt reveled her smooth curves. Her face was small and smooth. Her hair was covered with bandages. She looked more like a pirate then a resistance leader.

"I see you have found your way here, finally" she said.

"I'm sorry it took so long, we were being followed by Ezikiel and his men. We ran into some unforeseen complications.

"Well, as you can see, why you were off frolicking in the woods, Ezikiel took Chosi. His men are garrisoned here in the town. Cal is in charge.

"Blast," Ander said. "Why did he have to leave Cal?"

"Wait…who's Cal" Jarron blurted out

Sherl turned a death glare at Jarron, as if she had just noticed he was there.

"Cal is one of Ezikiel's commanders, arguably the strongest of the five. He is well known for his abilities with the sword, and his stealth. Ezekiel often uses him on assassination missions."

"Have you made any move's against him?" Ander asked, turning the conversation away from Jarron. Sherl turned to observe Arron.

"Yes. We have been observing him and his men for the past couple of weeks. We have also led several small tactical attacks. His men are strong, and everyone we have sent to spy on Cal has been killed. We have stopped sending spies. He somehow knows where they are.

"What about the docks? Does he keep them well protected? We need to get Arron to Impericii as soon as possible."

"Yes, he keeps the docks well patrolled. Even if we did manage to get on a ship, we would be overrun before we could get out of the dock. If we managed to get out of the dock, he would send his other ships to blow us up."

Ander squirmed in his seat.

"At this rate it looks like were going to have to kill Cal if we want to leave. Or head to Danvar on the other side of Doman…"

"Well, there is one thing we could try," Sheri said. "But it could be dangerous."

"I'm all ears" Ander replied.

"Every couple of days Cal ships back a boatload of slaves that have been collected from around the island. When they ship the slaves out the dock patrol is usually too preoccupied dealing with the slaves to keep a careful watch on the entire dock. If we can sneak into the department of shipping building, we can find the ship records to find out when the next big patch of slave transports is. When we find out when the next batch leaves, I can organize my men to sneak into the boat. The guards will have prepared to boats for departure, including loading them with supplies and prepared them for cast off. We can easily take the boat if it's ready to leave."

"Wait" Jarron interrupted again. "These slaves Ezikiel captures leave from here? The people from Duran could be here, including my mom and dad. Is there anyway to find out the names of the slaves leaving on the boat?"

Sheri looked annoyed to be interrupted. "When we sneak in to find the ship departure times, we can look through the manifests. If your parents are or were here, they would be on the manifest. Although I doubt they are still alive if they came all the way from Duran. Ezikiel and his men do not treat slaves well."

"Speaking of Ezikiel and his men," Ander said, focusing the conversation way from Jarron once again "I don't believe they are just going to let us drive out of Chosi free of harm. They will probably send their entire navy after us. Ezikiel is desperate to get this boy." Ander pointed towards Arron, who had been quit this whole time.

Arron looked frightened as he tried to sink into his chair.

"My men will take care of that" Sheri said, observing Arron once again. "Before we leave they will sneak onto the surrounding military boats and sabotage them." If they try and follow us, they will sink to the bottom of the ocean. I don't know why Jermael wants this boy so much, nor do I particularly care, but if that is his majesties wish, then I will do whatever it takes."

"Very well" Ander said, shuffling his feet. "So will you be coming with us back to Impericii?"

"No" Sheri replied. "My job is to stay here and try and take Chosi back. I will send of my finest men with you. They will take you all the Rodanwa. Now, if, you'll excuse me, I believe it is time for bed. I have had Cent prepare you some rooms. Ander, Tomorrow you and I will sneak into the office where they hold their ship manifests. You should get some sleep it will be a tough job."

"What about Jarron and I?" Arron asked, hating to be excluded.

"It is to dangerous for that many of us to go." Sherri said. "You and Jarron can rest tomorrow and explore the town. Just don't try and attract attention to yourself, and you should be fine. Ander and I will look for Jarron's parents in the ship manifests. Now it has been a long day, and I would like to get some sleep. I will see you all tomorrow. Now get some sleep."


	16. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Being underground with no sunlight made it very hard for Arron to get up the next morning. By the time he finally woke, Ander and Sheri were long gone. He looked over to see Jarron still asleep, snoring next to him. Arron gave him a shove. Jarron snorted like a pig and jumped to his feet in surprise.

"Whats wrong? Are we under attack? Where's my sword? Where's Ander?" he shouted as he looked around the room.

"Were not under attack you moron" Arron said. "You were snoring. And it's time to get up."

Jarron gave him a dirty look and slapped him across the back of the head.

"That's for waking me up. Now, where is Ander and that evil demon named Sheri?"

"I think they've left already" he said back, looking about the room.

They had spent the night in a small room underground. Arron exited the room and walked down the hallway. He found himself back in the bar from last night. On the table sat a pan of eggs.

"Nice!" Jarron shouted from behind. "Food!"

Jarron began to stuff his face into the pan, egg yolk flying over the bar.

"You better hope that Sheri left these for us, or she is going to unleash hell on you" Arron said.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm not scared of her." Jarron said. "She's all talk"

"Well, now that we half the whole day to ourselves, why don't we go explore? I have never been outside of Duran before."

"That sounds like a great idea." Jarron said as he finished the eggs. The empty pan clattered to the table. "Let's go get our stuff and be out the door!"

Several minutes later, the two were walking down the road in the poor section of town. They decided to bring their swords with them, but hid them underneath their vests. Since Ezikiel had taken the town he had outlawed the carrying of weapons in the town, aside from his soldiers.

"I can't believe people would live like this." Arron said. "I can't believe that the government would let them live like this. I'll be happy when we can leave this place."

I can't believe Ander wouldn't let us go with him!" Jarron yelled. "We've gotten stronger! We could have helped!" By now Jarron was fuming.

"Just ignore it. It would have been harder to sneak all four of us in. Let's just enjoy ourselves. We won't be here much longer, hopefully."

The two boys spent the rest of the day walking around the town. They walked by the docks, which were bustling with activity although no slaves were being transported. The town marketplace was about as dead as it was yesterday. It seemed like there were more of Ezikiel's guards then there were townspeople walking around. Since Ezikiel had invaded the town, people probably couldn't afford to do much of anything. The two decided to visit the tower and the center of the village. The inside of the tower was laviously decorated. Glass and minerals ornamented the wall. Several guards mingled around and blocked doors into upper parts of the tower where Cal walking around the town for a couple of hours, they traveled back to the poor slums. Not many people walked around, and those that did looked like they had been living on the street.

"I wish there was something we could do for these people" Arron said, as a man wearing nothing but a cotton cloth walked by.

"Ah, don't worry about it." Jarron said back. "There will always be poor. There were even poor in Duran, but you didn't seem to care about them."

"I know…but…"

a door built into a house a few feet in front of them exploded open. A small girl about the same age as them flew out and hit the pavement in front of them. She let out a cry and she scraped against the gravel below here. The girl's clothes were in rags, and her long hair was frizzled. Two fully armored guards walked out of the house after her. As the girl began to get to up the two guards dragged her to her feet.

"Come on you little bitch!" one of the soldiers shouted as he slapped her across the face. Blood and tears ran down the girl's cheeks.

"We know your dad is working for the resistence. Now where is he! We already killed your mother when she refused to tell us, and we are not afraid to do the same to you!" the other guard shouted as he kicked her in the stomach.

The girl let out a squeal as she doubled back in pain. Jarron stared intently at the soldiers, anger clearly painted on his face.

"Jarron!" Arron whispered hastely to him. "Remember what Ander said about not raising suspision!"

Jarron ignored Arron as he reached down and unhooked his sword from his waist. When the girl had recovered, the guards turned their attention back to the girl.

"Now little girl, sweet little girl, why don't you tell us what we want to know, or we might have drag this out." The guard drew a small knife out of his belt and held it up to the girl's throat.

"I told you! I'm not telling you pigs anything!

She tried to back up, but the other guard held her firmly in place.

"That's it." Jarron said as he charged at the guards.

"Jarron, Wait!" Arron shouted as he ran after him, unhooking his sword as well.

The guards had not heard them, and Jarron rammed into the soldier holding the knife. As they impacted both flew towards the house, crashing into the ground.

"What the-," the other guard said as he drew his sword, but he didn't notice as Arron slashed the blade right of his Arron slashed the sword down he brought his elbow up and smashed the man's face. The soldier stumbled back, blood spewing from his broken nose. The other soldier managed to wrestle himself out of Jarron's grasp. He quickly stood up and drew his sword, facing Jarron.

"Who the hell are you guys!" one of the soldiers shouted.

"Wait….they look like the two on the flier…the one's Cet is looking for."

"Oh no…" Arron whispered under his breath.

"Forget the girl. If we capture these two, we could get a serious promotion! We could be captains!"

The two men slowly approached Arron and Jarron, one holding his sword, the other a knife. The one with the knife picked up his sword from the ground as he passed it.

"Hey, you!" Jarron whispered to the girl. She gazed up at him. "When I say run, grab my hand. We are going to escape." The girl nodded her head, her hair covering her face.

"Now run!" he shouted. Jarron reached down and grabbed her hand. They took off through the nearest alley, Arron following.

"Get them!" the guards shouted as they chased after them.

They managed to a get a good head start. The soldiers were weighed down in their heavy armor. Soon more soldiers joined in the chase. The girl had no trouble keeping up, but Jarron held on tight. At one point the three ran down an extremely narrow and long tunnel. Because the tunnel was so narrow the going was slow. Before they could reach the end a guard turned into the tunnel in front of them. They turned around to come back the way they had come, but another guard and entered the tunnel behind them. They were surrounded. The two guards grinned as they pushed them into the center. Arron stood facing one guard, Jarron the other, both with their swords drawn. The girl huddled in the middle.

"Now we've got you" one of the soldiers said. Soon they were within striking distance.

"Let them make the first move" Arron whispered to Jarron behind him. "I have an idea"

"Whatever you say buddy" Jarron said back.

"Agh!" the two soldiers shouted as they attacked in unison, swords raised over their head. Arron and Jarron prepared to defend, but the attack never came. Both soldiers had their arms stuck against the wall. When they had tried to bring their swords down, they got their elbow guards lodged into the narrow walls of the alley. The soldiers strained as they tried to push their swords through, but it was no use. Arron and Jarron brought their feet up and kicked the soldiers in the stomach. Both guards reeled backwords, falling flat on their back.

"Come on!" Jarron shouted as he took off down the alley, stepping on one of the soldiers. They ran for almost an hour through the dense city, but no guards followed them. Soon they were back at Sheri's hideout. They made sure no one had followed them, and rushed down the steps back into the bar.

"It looks pretty well defended, what do they keep in there?" Ander said to Sheri, both crouched on the roof of a building as they observed the nearby Department of Boating Services headquarters. The headquarters was located near the dock, and several boats could be seen in the distance. Two guards stood near the door, while several others patrolled around the back.

"The building is quite large. Everything to do with transport to the continent and surrounding islands is dealt with in this building. All of the ship records are held in here. There are also prisons which hold the slaves that are about to be transported."

"That explains the tight security." Ander said. "Now how are we going to get in?"

"I'll handle that. Follow me, and keep quiet."

Sheri jumped down from the roof of the building and ran towards the dock building. Ander followed. The two hid behind a wall as they waited for the guards to pass. Then, they ran up to the wall behind a building. Sheri climbed on a trashcan and lifted herself up to the roof. She lowered her hand down to help lift Ander up. The roof was relatively flat and wide. The two crept towards the middle of the roof, where they found a latch with a large pipe. The pipe cut off above the roof, but lead down into the building.

"This is the ventilation shaft" Sheri said. "It brings air into the building. We should be able to get into the building from here."

She climbed into the shaft and fell out of Ander's eye site. He quickly followed. The shaft did fall far and Ander was soon standing next to Sheri. They stood in a long but narrow tunnel.

"Do you think they heard that?" he questioned.

Sheri did not respond, but continued down the shaft. The shaft branched out into multiple side tunnels, so the entire building got air. At several places the shafts would open into rooms below. Sheri led them above a room towards the end of the tunnel.

"The shipping records room is located on the first floor, which we cannot access from this ventilation system. We are going to need to exit out here, sneak downstairs, and find the records."

"Okay" Ander replied. "Is the room below us clear?"

They both crept towards the edge of the tunnel to look down. Two men occupied the room. One sat at his desk while the other stood in front talking to the man. The two were arguing. Something about one of the shipping boats being behind sceduale. The tunnel opened up above the men so they could easily surprise them. The door into the hall was closed. Sheri drew one of her daggers.

"This tunnel is only big enough for one of us to fit through at a time. I will jump down and kill the man at the desk. I need to jump down as quickly as possible after which you jump down and kill the second man. We should be able to take care of both of them without making more of a commotion then they are already making."

Ander gave a nod, signifying that he knew what to do. Sherri gave a huff, and jumped down into the shaft below. She landed gracefully behind the man at his desk. The man had heard the voice and had begun to turn around, but Sherri was to quick. She brought her left hand up around the man's body to block his mouth as she brought her right hand around with the knife, slitting his throat. The man twisted to the floor dead. Ander was right behind, twisting his knife in the air and bringing it down directly on the man's head. Blood gushed out of the wound as his head. Ander peeked into the hallway to make sure no one had seen, and slowly closed the door.

"Alright, now what?" he said, turning to Sheri. Sheri had begun stripping the body of the man.

"There's to many men here. I think the only way we are going to get into that building is if we go in disguise. Put on that man's clothes."

Together the two dressed in the uniforms, and hid the bodies. The uniforms were a grayish tint, with a hat the covered most of their hair. Small badges lined the sleaves. Ander put the bandana that covered his face away, exposing his blood shot eyes. He would have to keep his head low so he would not stand out. They made their way out of the room into the busy hall. The office was busy today, as guards and businessmen walked around the halls. Sheri led Ander down the hall and around the corner. No one gave them a second glance. After climbing down a set of stairs they arrived in the main hall. Directly to the right was the shipping records facility. The room was empty as the two made their way in. Giant book shelves and cabinants were crammed with papers. Sheri rushed forward.

"There most recent shipping records shouldn't be to hard to find."

After a few moments of searching she found the catalog with shipping records for the current year.

"Here we go" The catalog was already quite large, and shook and desk and she threw it open to the back page. "The next major shippage is tonight, which we are not going to make. If you leave in three days, that will give us enough time to prepare."

"That's fine…can I see that for a second? I promised Jarron I would look for records on his parents." Ander began to flip few the records for the past few days. Next to yesterday's shipment was notes on what was being transported. On the list was "slaves from Duran.

"Dammit, we just missed it. They are on the way to the continent." Ander said.

"We need to get out of here" Sherri said. "They should be discovering the bodies any sec-"

"What are you guys doing in here"

a voice came from the door. A man dressed as a merchant walked into the room. The man gave them a strange look as he squinted.

"Are those general Kilar's and Genovah's uniforms?"

At that moment the alarm sounded. The loud blare echoed around them in the small room. The bodies had been found.

"Shit!" Sheri screamed.

She threw hershelf against the nearest book shelf. The man screamed in terror as the bookshelf and a mountain of books toppled on top of him. Sherri charged out of the room, Ander following. The guards had already begun to assemble. Soon they would have all exists blocked.

"We need to get out of here before the exits are blocked. Follow me"

The two ran towards the back of the building. Guards chased after them. They must have recognized the uniforms. At the end of the hall was a small door. A guard with a spear blocked the entrance. The man shook in fear as the two ran at him, but held his ground. Sheri drew hear dagger from the side. She knocked the spear away with a simple flick of her arm and stabbed the man is the forehead with the knife. The door led to a harbor outside. Men rushed around the sides, weapon in hand.

"I hope you can swim" Sherri said as she dashed for the water.

Ander followed as both dove into the sea. The water was dark, but clear enough that Ander could see Sherri in front of him. They swam away from dock, further out to see. The men would try and look for them near the shore, and would not think to look out. After several minutes Ander couldn't take it any longer, he had to get a breath. His head emerged to the surface. The shoreline could barely be seen this far away. The soldiers looked like little specks. The water next to Ander erupted as Sherri came to the surface.

"We will be safe out here for now. When night comes, we can swim back to shore. They will probably have given up there search. Then, we can head back to the base. I'm sure Jarron and Arron are waiting for us.


End file.
